There is then the concept of the need for an individual to establish certain skills in order to adopt healthy behaviour in response to the issue. For mental illness it is essential that sufferers become skilled at making decisions, solving problems and coping with undesirable conditions. This assists an individual in recognizing the need to seek help. Also coming under this idea is the necessity of educating yourself to increase understanding of how to identify types of mental illness.
The need for a person to be aware of where they can locate reliable information on the illness is paramount. Only recently has a vast range of information on mental illness been readily available. Organisations like BeyondBlue provide information through a range of mediums, the Internet, pamphlets, television and national surveys and reports. Other sources for information include the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, mental health clinics or facilities, general practitioners, hospitals and schools etc.
It is vital for a sufferer of mental illness to understand where they can find support services and assistance. There are often a number of ‘support groups’ operated through hospitals or organised by individuals with similar needs. An initiative of BeyondBlue known as BlueVoices is a comprehensive online community that encourages people to share their own experience, and operates an email service that distributes information to members of the group.
Create Supportive Environments
This section involves the idea that if the environment is not respected, then he health of the community will suffer as a consequence. A person’s environment must not be detrimental to their health, but rather support an individual in encouraging healthy choices and lifestyle. This includes work, leisure and living environments and all three must be a source of comfort and positive health.
While support services are vital, as with any other disease, mental health patients often require more personal support. Therefore it is important for the individual to build strong relationships and networks of friends, family, trusted counselors and mental health workers.
For younger people, the NSW Department of Education and NSW Health have collaborated to launch an initiative known as the “School-Link” program. School-Link will provide a framework for programs to improve the understanding, recognition, treatment, support and prevention of depression and related disorders in adolescents, particularly those attending State secondary schools.
In recent years, the environment has been modified in some ways to accommodate and reduce the incidence of mental illness. Increased awareness of emotional or social trauma as a cause of mental illness have influenced and helped to reduce the stigma often related to mental illness. Acknowledging the occurrence of domestic abuse and reduced disapproval of divorce have resulted in the community being better able to facilitate and assist those affected by these two occasions.
The creation of supportive environments is important because many environmental factors (socio-cultural, physical, political, and economic) have the power to impact on mental illness. Socio-cultural factors for mental illness in Australia include a family history of mental disorders, stressful environments and indigenous males. The physical may be a chronic illness or substance dependence. Political factors are important, it has been shown that there is higher incidence of mental illness in areas that are involved in civil or military actions or that have recently suffered a major natural or man-made disaster. Economic factors also stand to have impact on mental health, with people of a lower socio-economic status are disadvantaged in terms of having reduced access to facilities and services due to a financial barrier.
Strengthen Community Action
Community development draws on existing human and material resources to enhance self-help and social support, and to develop flexible systems for strengthening public participation in, and direction of, health matters. This requires full ad continuous access to information and learning opportunities for health, as well as funding support.
In terms of mental health strategic community action is about providing prevention programs that cater to people of all ages and life situations. Two key initiatives that address this are the Kids Help Line and Life Line. Kids Help Line is Australia's only free, confidential and anonymous, 24-hour telephone and online counselling service specifically for young people aged between five and 18. The service aims to assist young people develop options, recognise and comprehend the consequences of a certain course of action, support in fostering more productive relationships with family and friends, and provide information on local support services. The organisation Lifeline is similar in its provision of a telephone counselling service, however it caters to people of all ages, and also makes possible for face-to-face counselling at any of its 42 Lifeline centres.
Other strategies that address the need for strengthened community action include, community nurses who care for new mothers who may be at risk of post natal depression; local businesses giving unemployed people the opportunity to gain work experience; support groups for teenage mothers and pregnant teens; and the establishment of community self help groups for those suffering from depression.
Reorienting Health Services
It is imperative that health services are reoriented so that individuals, community groups, health professionals, health service institutions and governments share the responsibility for health promotion within health services. Through a collaborative effort they must ensure that the health care system contributes to good health, and alter the traditional health sector’s curative focus, and look more to the idea of health promotion and prevention.
In order to reorient Australia’s health services, more accessibility to these services and all other necessary information on mental illness must be ensured. Services need to be available to people of all ages, backgrounds and socio-economic status’ and to address this we need to ensure that information is broadcast to all levels of the community, in a range of languages, and suitable mediums that are successful for each particular sub-group. Not only this, but there needs to be a reduction in the stigma associated with mental health, as it often poses as a barrier to an individual’s treatment.
Examples of the reorientation of services that has already taken place includes, schools having compulsory counsellors for the students as well as trained staff that deal with students who may be mentally handicapped or have certain needs and the establishment of specialised wards in hospitals that have been funded for the treatment and research of specific illnesses related to a mental state such as anorexia or depression.
Building Healthy Public Policy
This component of the Ottawa Charter acknowledges that health promotion combines diverse but complementary approaches, including legislation, economic measures, taxation and organizational change. The purpose of this principle is to guide public policy so that it provides an environment in which healthier choices are easier.
The first public policy to address mental health was in 1998 when it was identified as National Health Priority Area. Then in 2000 the Commonwealth Government funded a National Initiative to promote awareness of mental illness through community education about the disease as a whole, and looking at each facet, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and postnatal depression.
Another initiative has been to increase the standards of professional training for mental illness. This has been facilitated through the Better Outcomes in Mental Health Care program, which gives doctors a level one or two accreditation in the practice of treating mental health.
Other public policy initiatives include laws designating working hour limits, with the goal of reducing work-related stress and government organisations such as “Job Smart” that helps to reduce depression that results from unemployment.
The action areas of the Ottawa Charter are imperative when addressing priority areas for Australia’s health. This is because health is a multi-dimensional concept, and as such, to address a personal health services need to asses all aspects of that person and all aspects that contribute to their health, be it their physical, emotional, mental, social, or spiritual health. Therefore, health promotion requires a vast range of initiative that cater to all the various facets of health.
