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The promotion of public mental health is a challenging endeavour for policy actors and stakeholders. In particular, the implementation of public mental health initiatives highlighted in Standard One of the National Service Framework for Mental Health has been poor and patchy (Department of Health, 2004a). This paper attempts to illuminate the complex process of public mental health policy implementation at local level through the exploration of stakeholders' actions.An exploratory case study design was selected, focusing on one local health and social care community within inner London. A conceptual framework about policy implementation and the concept of partnership working are used to shape the analysis of the empirical findings.This paper addresses the challenges associated with the promotion of public mental health initiatives within one local NHS health and social care community. It attempts to increase the understanding and insights into public mental health policy and practice at local level from a policy implementation standpoint. Using an empirical case study of public mental health in an English locality, some of the key issues explored in this paper are about perceptions of public mental health concepts among key policy actors and also stakeholders' behaviour in Local Implementation team (LIT) partnerships. Furthermore, the authors address the issue of how local policy actors engage the local community in supporting the needs of vulnerable groups such as service users and black and minority ethnic (BME) groups.Although functional partnership are essential for the promotion of public mental health initiatives, the interdependencies of the stakeholders, competition for resources, power dynamics and the difficulty of engaging a diverse range of voices have a significant limiting effect on achieving successful policy implementation on the ground.

There has been a tradition of comparative research into the health services of England and Sweden. This has focused mainly on health care financing, organisational structures and health inequalities (Anderson 1972; Helco 1974; Heidenheimer and Elvander 1980; Ham 1988; Ham et al 1990). Less attention however has been paid to the policies on, and philosophies of, public health and health promotion in the two countries. This may of course be because it is only comparatively recently that such policies have come to the fore on the political agenda in both countries. It is on these areas that we focus our attention. Consequently this paper will do three things. First, describe the current policies on public health and health promotion at national level in both countries. Second, draw attention to the differences and similarities which are manifest in the policies of these two countries and develop a summary of the two national strategies. Third, we will consider some possible reasons and explanations for the contemporary emergence of public health.

The aim of this study is to analyse the position and role of mental health in health promotion policy. Policy documents from Finland, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, England and Portugal indicate that, although mental health is considered a serious issue, it is problematic in policy terms. A range of arguments are put forward, making the case for the importance of mental health within the health promotion agenda, including the classification of mental illness as a public health problem, socio‐economic and individual costs of mental health problems and the view that mental well‐being is a crucial element of overall health. However problems of definition, measurement and a traditional focus on treatment and care continue to make mental health promotion problematic for policy makers.

Due to the need for the development of person-centred integrated models of care with a population health approach, this paper explored contemporary literature in this arena.

A systematic literature review was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Papers included in this review focused upon person-centred integrated care and a health promotion/public health approach (January 2018–October 2020). Papers were excluded due to not being written in English, not fitting the age criteria and not being peer reviewed.

Eight studies met the inclusion criteria and three overarching themes were identified with regards to person-centred integrated care as a health promotion/public health approach: Core components; Development, implementation, and evaluation of models of care and relationship to population health and wellbeing outcomes.

The need for person-centred integrated care as a health promotion/public health approach, to enhance population health and well-being outcomes requires further research to continue to develop, implement and evaluate models of care.

The international scope of this contemporary review brought together the three concepts of person-centred integrated care and public health, exploring the translation of policy into practice (WHO, 2016). The juxtaposition of public health approaches in the background/consequential or foreground/active agent demonstrates how promotion, prevention and population health can be re-valued in integrated people-centred health services (WHO, 2016).

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.

Effective public mental health policy and practice call for a trained workforce that is competent in mental health promotion and delivering on improved mental health. Systematic information on what competencies are needed for mental health promotion practice in the health sector is lacking. The purpose of this paper is to investigate these competencies for mental health promotion.

A Delphi survey was carried out to facilitate a consensus-building process on development of the competencies. Professionals (n=32) working in mental health and mental health promotion took part in the survey. The experts were asked their professional views on the needed competencies as well as to rank the importance of the competencies. Two questionnaire rounds were carried out in order to reach consensus.

In total, 16 main competencies and 56 subcompetencies were identified through the Delphi survey. The competencies were divided into three category domains: theoretical knowledge, practical skills and attitudes and values each category representing an important aspect of mental health promotion competency.

The competencies provide a resource for workforce development, as they illustrate what theoretical knowledge, practical skills and attitudes and values are required. They provide an instrument to enhance education and training programmes in mental health promotion contributing to a more skilled workforce and improved quality of practice as well.

A strong consensus was reached within the participating experts, them viewing all competencies as important. The identified competencies highlight the great variety of different competencies and competency areas that are needed for effective mental health promotion practice in the health sector.

Mental health promotion is a relatively new, evolving and very exciting area of public health. The challenge for mental health promotion in Australia is ‘weaving its many threads’ through the various areas of mental health policy, programs and service delivery.

Health-related issues are widely covered in news agencies by medical and health journalists. The quantity, format and quality of their coverage influence the general public as well as policymakers and professions. Current studies and observations suggest that news agencies are more dominated by medical topics (disease, symptoms, epidemiology, treatment and medicines) than general public health issues (risk prevention, health protection, education and promotion). This study explores the causes of the current situation in Iran and generates solutions for supporting health-promoting media that may also prove beneficial for other countries.

A qualitative study was conducted to explore the coverage of health-related topics in selected news agencies. Stakeholders, including health journalists, health professionals and public relations staff at the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education were interviewed. Data were collected until data saturation was reached. The transcripts of all the 17 interviews conducted were analyzed using conventional content analysis.

Four groups of causes were identified, including individual factors, organizational factors, socioeconomic factors and the different nature of medicine and public health. The participants proposed several solutions that were classified into three categories, including the empowerment of stakeholders through capacity development, organizational change and mutual communication and culture change.

Creating health-promoting media is a complex but urgent task, and providing a comprehensive and deep understanding of the dynamic interdependencies of the multiple factors at play in it and developing and implementing the most effective interventions for it requires a systematic approach.

Choosing Health is the first government public health white paper since Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation, published in 1999. It aims to make the NHS ‘a health service, not a sickness service,’ and is strongly influenced by the Wanless reports. This paper presents a critical review of the main elements of the white paper that relate to mental health, and sets out the actions that policy makers and service delivery organisations need to take to build genuinely mental health promoting public services within a mentally healthy society.

Intersectoral collaboration is often a prerequisite for effective interventions in public health. The purpose of this paper is to assess the facilitating and hindering conditions regarding intersectoral collaboration between health authorities, public health services (PHSs), public services stakeholders (PPSs) and the education sector in comprehensive school health promotion (CSHP) in the Netherlands.

CSHP collaborations in five Dutch regions were studied using a questionnaire based on the DIagnosis of Sustainable Collaboration (DISC) model, focusing on: change management; perceptions, intentions and actions of collaborating parties; project organization; and factors in the wider context. Univariate and multivariate analyses with bootstrapping were applied to 106 respondents (62 percent response).

A similar pattern of facilitating and hindering conditions emerged for the five regions, showing positive perceptions, but fewer positive intentions and actions. An overall favorable internal and external context for collaboration was found, but limited by bureaucratic procedures and prioritizing stakeholders’ own organizational goals. Change management was rarely applied. Some differences between sectors emerged, with greatest support for collaboration found among the coordinating organizations (PHSs) and least support among the financing organization (municipalities).

The generalization of the findings is limited to the initial formation stage of collaboration, and may be affected by selection bias, small sample size and possible impact of interdepartmental collaboration within organizations.

The authors recommend establishing stronger change management to facilitate translation of positive perceptions into intentions and actions, and coordination of divergent organizational structures and orientations among collaborating parties.

The results show that it is valuable for collaborating parties to conduct DISC analyses to improve intersectoral collaboration in CSHP.