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Putting mental health promotion on the agenda
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New federal investment in mental health, #MentalHealthWeek, a new global position statement on Mental Health Promotion, media stories and research results on the mental health impacts of COVID-19 – these activities and more say that mental health is on the agenda. Widespread awareness of the issues and commitment to address them are essential to inspire action. For those actions to be effective, they must include improving the drivers, or determinants, of mental health. This upstream orientation is the essence of mental health promotion (MHP), which is not well understood. The KDE Hub and Mental Health Promotion Innovation Fund (MHP-IF) are trying to change that. This Hub Update edition profiles MHP in action, offers supports and invites connections to develop shared understandings and to consider how we might leverage global and local assets for strengthening MHP in Canada. Please consider joining us on May 31st for an open webinar on this topic.
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The International Union for Health Promotion and Education recently published a position statement on mental health promotion.
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Recent highlights
MHP-IF project infographics: They’re up and ready for action!
That’s right – the 20 MHP-IF project infographics are now available in both English and French at kdehub.ca. The Hub Secretariat would like to extend a huge THANK YOU to project teams, for their input and guidance, and to the design team, who brought the infographics to life!
The infographics provide an at-a-glance, easy to share overview of each project and the MHP-IF as a whole. They share common elements that describe project focus, approaches, desired outcomes, geographic locations, partnerships and contact information. We hope they are a useful communication tool for spreading the word and learning about the MHP-IF projects. The Hub is developing a brief video to introduce the infographics, to raise awareness about the niche of the MHP-IF and to help make connections with others who share interests in mental health promotion. The infographics and video will be featured during the Hub’s May 31, 2021 webinar – read on to learn more.
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MHP-IF project infographics are now up on kdehub.ca.
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Hub supports for navigating complexity: Webinars, blog posts, resources, and more!
Doing mental health promotion well takes navigating many types of complexity, even during ‘normal’ times. The March 2021 edition of the Hub Update showed how the COVID-19 pandemic introduced disruptions and changes that increased needs for groups to find their way through some common complex situations. It also described some initial Hub supports for navigating complexity; our March 10 webinar, and a blog post that highlighted two tools for navigating complexity (Strategic Foresight and Most Significant Change). The Hub built on these supports at the April 21 webinar using case-based peer learning. Case examples served as a jumping off point for discussions. An event brief from that webinar is now available and the case studies were published in a subsequent blog post. Sincere thanks to team members from Mind your Food and Nurturing the Seed for agreeing to share their experiences and for contributions during the webinar.
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Blog post: Strengthening Canada’s response to the pandemic means strengthening Mental Health Promotion
Check out this blog as a bit of a teaser for the upcoming open webinar on May 31. We position and pose the question about how we might advance the field of mental health promotion. One marker of progress is a shared understanding of main concepts. The blog explores the presence of a common language for MHP across definitions from a selective set of public and mental health policy organizations and frameworks.
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The Hub explored the presence of a common language for mental health promotion
in a recent blog.
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Looking ahead
May 19 Hub webinar: Developing project theories of change
Back in 1952, Lewin wrote ‘there is nothing more practical than a good theory’. Agreed! But we also need practical ways to develop a good theory. This is the spirit the Hub will bring to supporting the development and use of theories of change for mental health promotion; a focus for phase 2 of the MHP-IF. The Hub’s May 19th webinar for MHP-IF projects will feature Steve Montague, a fellow of the Canadian Evaluation Society and leading evaluation consultant on theories of change. The webinar will cover the what, why, and how of theories of change and situate practice guidance within historical and contemporary trends.
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May 31 Hub webinar: Mental Health Promotion in Canada – leveraging global and local assets to accelerate our progress and impact
All are welcome! This webinar will consider how we put and keep mental health promotion on the agenda. What is mental health promotion (MHP)? What’s happening in Canada? How can we leverage the new global position statement on MHP from the International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUPHE)? How can Canada’s own MHP-IF contribute most effectively? The webinar will include remarks from and dialogue with Shannon Bradley Dexter (MHP-IF team member, Senior Policy Analyst, Public Health Agency of Canada), Dr. Barb Riley (KDE Hub Scientific Director, Renison University College, University of Waterloo), and Dr. Emily Jenkins (MHP-IF Project Lead for Agenda Gap, Assistant Professor, University of British Columbia, Chair IUPHE Position Statement). Please use and share this registration link. We look forward to welcoming you on May 31!
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The KDE Hub supports connections and learning amongst the MHP-IF projects and others who aspire to optimal mental health promotion for young Canadians. One way we do this is seeking and sharing timely resources, events and research from the field of child and youth mental health promotion. Here are a few of the items that have caught our attention recently:
Let us know if there are new resources, events or research you would like us to share. We love to hear from you: kdehub@uwaterloo.ca.
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Hub Spotlight: Emily Jenkins
Canada is lucky to have Dr. Emily Jenkins in our midst. Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia and a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar (2019-2024), Emily is a leader in youth mental health. Her work is strengths-based and ‘upstream’. It is grounded in the concepts of mental health promotion, population health, and participatory democracy. Dr. Jenkins recently chaired and co-authored the IUHPE position statement on Mental Health Promotion, along with Dr. Margaret Barry and colleagues. She is also lead for the MHP-IF funded Agenda Gap project. Emily will draw on these experiences and more when speaking at the Hub May 31 open webinar. Thank you, Emily, for spotlighting MHP in global and local arenas. We’re pleased to spotlight you!
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The Knowledge Development and Exchange Hub is dedicated to advancing child and youth mental health promotion in Canada. Our niche is supporting projects funded through the Mental Health Promotion Innovation Fund and others with shared interests. Learn more at kdehub.ca. |
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