It’s time to look at prevention with a renewed focus.The emphasis on prevention during the COVID-19 pandemic was a global necessity. From masks, hand sanitiser and social distancing, to multi-billion-dollar public health campaigns, prevention was a clear strategy to take the pressure off public health systems, and most importantly to save lives. When it comes to mental ill-health, the prevention component can often get pushed to one side or even mixed up into what the overall system needs. The concept of what constitutes prevention, especially when we dig deep into the social determinants of mental ill-health, is seldom looked at in its entirety. Prevention too often gets mentioned alongside early intervention and then service provision. Last week we talked about the intersection between the ‘early years’, parental support and mental health – prevention for children. And it was great to see our member Smiling Mind launch their Our Kids Count campaign this week where among many things they are calling for the government to focus on prevention – or more specifically: · Raise government investment in the primary prevention of mental illness to 5% of all mental health expenditure to promote mental wellbeing. The Smiling Mind campaign also reminds us that an estimated 25-50% of adult mental illness can be prevented through early intervention during childhood and adolescence. The campaign coincides with Loneliness Awareness Week Australia where the release of their State of the Nation Report Social Connection in Australia 2023 has found: · More than 6 million Australians feel lonely. That’s 1 in 3 people. · That persistent loneliness can lead to heart conditions, mental ill health, dementia, and premature death. · And that, despite how common loneliness is, 1 in 2 people are too embarrassed to talk about it due to misconceptions and stigma within our community. When it to comes to suicide prevention, many of our members have campaigned, and worked hard, for decades to educate and raise awareness around prevention. In some jurisdictions, we’re also seeing a strong focus on mental health promotion, like in Western Australia with the Act Belong Commit campaign, run by our member Mentally Healthy WA. Prevention United is also taking a lead, by advocating for national policy changes to prevent mental health conditions. At Mental Health Australia we’ve highlighted the importance of social participation as one key social determinant when it comes to prevention of mental ill-health. We know that social participation is strongly related to better mental and physical health. Many people who experience mental health challenges say that connecting with others is important in their recovery journey. We also cannot underestimate the importance of social connection and belonging when it comes to preventing mental health conditions in the first place. Community groups such as spiritual or cultural associations, sporting clubs, art centres and informal groups and activities provide essential opportunities for people to connect and participate. Government planning and investment in community infrastructure lays the foundation for such social participation and this includes public transport, communal spaces and support for community organisations. In the UK the government even set up a Building Connections Fund to support projects that prevent or reduce loneliness. This positive, preventative step is an example of how we could both improve wellbeing and prevent mental ill-health in our communities across Australia. Have a good weekend. Carolyn Nikoloski
CEO, Mental Health Australia
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