Public mental health: The case and required actions across the European region

Abstract

Despite the existence of effective public mental health (PMH) interventions, only a minority across the European region receive treatment for mental health conditions (MHCs). Even fewer receive interventions to prevent MHC-associated impacts, with negligible coverage of interventions to prevent MHCs, or promote mental well-being and resilience. Various reasons account for implementation failure which breaches the right to health and results in population scale preventable suffering, broad impacts and associated economic costs. Public mental health involves a population approach to improve coverage, outcomes and coordination of PMH interventions. Required actions to scale up PMH implementation include effectively making the case through assessment of PMH need, highlighting economic impacts of PMH implementation failure and improved coverage, and coordinated advocacy and leadership. Public mental health practice involves the use of PMH needs assessment to inform choice of interventions, policy development, and required coverage and resources for effective PMH intervention delivery by different sectors. This is supported by the collection of PMH-relevant data. Further actions to scale up PMH implementation include adopting human rights-based approaches and legislation, PMH training to different sectors and improved population PMH literacy, maximizing existing resources, settings-based and integrated approaches, use of digital technology, prioritizing interventions with large population impact, and implementation-focused research. Scaled up PMH implementation results in broad population impacts, achievement of a range of policy objectives, sustainable reduction in impacts of MHCs and promotion of mental well-being across the population of the European region. Associated economic savings also make PMH practice an essential part of sustainable economic development.