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Medical students experience higher rates of mental illness than the general population. With competition rising for success in medical school, and residency, increasing incidence of distress are leading this population to experience higher rates of thoughts of dropping out of school, and even suicide. Since many stigmas deter medical students from receiving mental health counseling, such as the perceived inability to handle the stresses of medical school, and the potential lack of competitiveness for residencies if reported, prevention of mental illness may be a better course to take in reducing prevalence in this population. Regular exercise has demonstrated a positive effect on not only promoting physical health, but also mental health. Exercise encourages a healthy mood, positive self esteem, and better cognition, while decreasing the chances of depression, anxiety, and burnout. Implementing exercise time into medical school curriculums, just like the basic sciences, albeit for less time in the day, could provide a feasible way to ensure that all students are taking time to partake in this important activity for their well being. Though medical schools are rigid with attempts to make changes in their curriculum, thirty minutes a day, three to five times a week of exercise of the students' choice not only is more cost effective than counseling, but it also reduces the chances that they will experience burnout, which if left untreated could transcend into a compromised training experience.

This paper provides a critical review of prevention methods in mental health. Information from existing literature, ideologies, theories and clinical practice will be utilised to gain further insight into the kind of prevention strategies that aid and assist black and ethnic minority communities (BME) in understanding the effects of mental illness in their communities. It is hoped that a real world analysis approach can collectively demystify and change the communities' perception of mental illness. For the purpose of this article, the term black and ethnic minority communities (BME) refers to all classification of people as described in the national census categorisation; expect white (Anglo‐Saxon) ‐ British.This classification of BME refers to a tangible quality, or a sense of being, derived from a position of a shared racial or cultural affiliation. The term, service user, refers to those who have had assessment and treatment by mental health services.

Although public health practitioners have made some contribution to the prevention of mental illness, this has not been a result of deliberate intent. Considering the extent of the problem, the response to mental illness as a public health issue has been grossly inadequate. An exploration of the historical reasons and an analysis of public health's reluctance to include mental health as part of its responsibility may assist in the premarital counselling required to broker what could be a mutually beneficial marriage with mental health. The prospective fruits of this union are explored, with recommendations for future action.

Reviews previous studies of the universal approach to mental health promotion, and disease prevention programmes or interventions in schools. Over 8,000 publications were identified initially and 425 studies obtained for further review. The inclusion criteria were met by 17 (mostly US) studies investigating 16 interventions. Positive evidence of effectiveness was obtained for programmes that adopted a whole‐school approach, were implemented continuously for more than a year, and were aimed at the promotion of mental health as opposed to the prevention of mental illness. Provides evidence that universal school mental health promotion programmes can be effective and suggests that long‐term interventions promoting the positive mental health of all pupils and involving changes to the school climate are likely to be more successful than brief class‐based mental illness prevention programmes.

There is a growing policy imperative to promote positive mental health as well as prevent the development of mental health problems in children. This paper summarises the findings of published systematic reviews evaluating such interventions. A search was undertaken of ten electronic databases using a combination of medical subject headings (MeSH) and free text searches. Systematic reviews covering mental health promotion or mental illness prevention interventions aimed at infants, children or young people up to age 19 were included. Reviews of drug and alcohol prevention programmes and programmes to prevent childhood abuse and neglect were excluded because these have been the subject of recent good quality reviews of reviews. A total of 27 systematic reviews were included. These targeted a range of risk and protective factors, and a range of populations (including parents and children). While many lacked methodological rigour, overall the evidence is strongly suggestive of the effectiveness of a range of interventions in promoting positive mental well‐being, and reducing key risk factors for mental illness in children. Based on this evidence, arguments are advanced for the preferential provision of early preventive programmes.

In response to a call for greater attention to the mental health promotion needs of older people, this study aims to identify those aspects of mental health messages that may be particularly effective with older audiences.

Individual interviews and focus groups were conducted with 111 Australians aged 40 years and older.

A low level of knowledge relating to mental health issues and the confounding of mental health with mental illness resulted in participants stating a preference for health experts, government officials, and high‐profile and “everyday” individuals who have successfully recovered from mental illness as spokespeople for mental health messages. A common theme was that spokespersons should have evident and extensive knowledge of .mental illness, either through qualifications, occupation, or personal experience.

The findings demonstrate the highly negative connotations surrounding mental illness and the lack of familiarity with the concept of positive mental health. There is much scope to educate the public about the importance of staying mentally healthy and how this outcome may be achieved.

This paper uses economic analysis to develop the case for greater investment in mental health promotion. One example of a common mental health problem for which there is robust evidence of effective interventions is conduct disorder. The paper estimates that preventing conduct disorders in those children who are most disturbed would save around £150,000 per case (lifetime costs), and that promoting positive mental health in those children with moderate mental health would yield lifetime benefits of around £75,000 per case. Investment in support for parents is therefore the top priority in a provisional list of ‘best buys’ in promoting mental health.

This paper presents the findings of an investigation into a mental health promotion initiative in young offender institutions across England. The study involved a survey of staff attitudes towards mental health promotion, and surveyed practice run by these staff. Analysis of staff descriptions of mental health promotion revealed a degree of confusion and a lack of clarity over the definition of mental health and mental health promotion. The concept of a mental health promotion initiative which aimed to improve the well‐being of the general inmate and staff population was not a shared vision and not part of the core work of either health care staff or prison officers. It is recommended that any future campaigns on mental health or health promotion should have a central lead, with some flexibility to allow for the development of local initiatives, fostering local relationships and partnerships.

Three articles in the inaugural issue of this Journal discuss the idea of mental health promotion. Here, each is discussed in terms of claims, assumptions and, in some cases, weaknesses such as an unreconstructed account of mental illness prevention, the mistake of relying on an arbitrary definition of mental health and problems with relying on ‘resilience’ as a central concept. It is argued that none of the papers pays enough attention to social experiences and processes, cultural values and norms on which all judgements about what promotes and demotes mental health are based. In response to this critique, the ten‐element map of mental health promotion and demotion is referred to as a more comprehensive, illuminating and, in the end, more philosophically sound account.

The European Union‐supported Child and Adolescent Mental Health in an Enlarged Europe (CAMHEE) project aimed to provide an overview of the challenges, current practice and guidelines for developing effective mental health promotion and mental illness prevention policy and practice across Europe. As part of this work, an analysis was undertaken of the situation in England, making use of a bespoke data collection instrument and protocol.Our analysis suggests that there has been significant effort and investment in research, needs assessment, policy, human resource and service developments in CAMHS over the last 20 years, leading to a more detailed understanding and availability of services. Much of the emphasis has been on assessment and management of difficulties, however in recent years attention has begun to focus on mental health promotion. National standards and programmes such as Every Child Matters (Department for Education and Skills, 2004) have acted as catalysts for a number of national initiatives.