Editorial

Citation

Quinn, N. (2021), "Editorial", Journal of Public Mental Health, Vol. 20 No. 4, pp. 241-242. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPMH-12-2021-154

COP26 and public mental health

As we prepare for COP26 in Glasgow next week, we recognise the huge responsibility on world leaders to urgently take action on climate change to save our planet. Given the coverage in recent weeks, we have also become even more aware of the enormous impact of climate change on the well-being of communities all around the world. This includes an increasing focus on the mental health impact of climate crisis and the need for the public mental health community to refocus our efforts on addressing this.

On this theme, this issue begins with a paper on the connection between mental health and the environment, entitled “Three Good Things in Nature: A Nature-Based Positive Psychological Intervention to Improve Mood and Well-Being for Depression and Anxiety” by Rosaline Keenan and colleagues. It discusses the effectiveness of this innovative programme and highlights the potential for scaling up nature-based psychological programmes.

We address the issue of self-harm and suicide (the sole focus of our next special issue). Nicole Gray and colleagues discuss the impact of ambivalence on recovery from non-suicidal self-injury and the implications for health professionals. They found that ambivalence towards self-injury can be challenging for both clients and health professionals and highlight the importance of recognising ambivalence as a natural and expected part of the recovery process. This issue also discusses newspaper coverage of suicidal behaviour in Maharashtra, India. Through a content analysis of all suicide-related news reports, the study found that the newspapers were non-adherent to WHO guidelines while reporting suicide-related news. It highlighted the need for better implementation of national media guidelines through collaboration with various stakeholders, policymakers, media professionals and mental health professionals to prevent suicide.

We look at the impact of both socio-economic and ethnic inequalities on mental health. Xavier Bartoli-Roca and colleagues undertook an ambitious study to analyse the contribution of socioeconomic determinants to mental health inequalities before the economic crisis, in 2006, and again in 2016, and second, to analyse the changes in these contributions between the two points in time in Barcelona. The study found employment status, social class and gender are the main contributory factors to mental health inequalities. Eula Miller and colleagues undertook a systematic review of Black and Ethnic Minority Carers perceptions on Mental Health services and support in the United Kingdom. This review has revealed a variety of themes that influence the uptake of MH services and support as a lack of understanding of some BAME carers about the available MH services and available support. It also highlighted the impact of fear of stigmatisation, discrimination and stereotypical nature of some MH services which hinder and cause delay in accessing the available MH support.

There is also a focus on public mental health training and strategy in this issue. Marta Ortega Vega and colleagues undertook a review of public mental health training and identified four core quality principles. The paper provides a novel approach to assessing training quality and discuss areas for development and innovation in this field. This compliments a paper by Jude Stansfield and colleagues, which used systems mapping as a tool to develop an organisation-wide approach to public mental health to inform strategic direction within a national public health agency. The paper demonstrates the value of systems mapping for developing a whole-organisation approach and stimulating thinking and practice in complex system approaches. It also provides a practical example of how to apply systems mapping and its benefits for organising public mental health practice.

The final paper in this issue evaluates the benefits of inclusive community singing towards well-being. The study used an exploratory qualitative study approach to elicit participants’ experiences on the impact of an inclusive community singing group towards well-being and found that a community singing group helped participants feel connected with others, improve physical their well-being, learn new skills and provided an opportunity to give to others.

We hope you enjoy this diverse issue and hope it provides an opportunity to develop your insights on a wide range of public health topics, as well as a motivation to improve policy and practice.