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National Integrated Framework for
Enhancing Mental
Health Literacy in Canada |
Final Report
July 2008 |
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The Canadian Alliance on
Mental Illness and Mental Health is pleased
to present this National Integrated
Framework for enhancing Mental Health
Literacy in Canada. We have defined mental
health literacy as the knowledge and skills
that enable people to access, understand and
apply information for mental health. This
definition places more of an emphasis on
empowerment for health, a key concept in
health promotion and health literacy. This
National Framework represents the
culmination of almost four years of
research, planning and consultation across
Canada. This project was initiated to
research the mental health literacy of
Canadians, to compare it with findings from
other jurisdictions, to share the findings
with key partners and in partnership, to
develop an integrated strategy to improve
mental health literacy in Canada.
Full
Final Report
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Mental Health
Literacy In Canada |
Please Take the Mental Health Literacy Survey
Veuillez prendre l'enquête
mentale d'instruction de santé
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Mental
Health Literacy Project
Mental health
literacy has been defined as the knowledge,
beliefs and abilities that enable the
recognition, management or prevention of
mental health problems. Enhanced
mental health literacy appears to confer a
range of benefits: prevention, early
recognition and intervention, and reduction
of stigma associated with mental illness.
The Mental Health Literacy (MHL) project is
the first of its kind in Canada, funded by
Health Canada under the Population Health
Fund (PHFN) as a response to the Chronic
Disease - Integrated Approaches to Chronic
Disease funding priority. It is a
three-year project, which commenced in the
fall of 2005. The report represents
the conclusion of the first phase of the MHL
project, which included a review of existing
data, a national survey on MHL and follow-up
focus group discussions. The next
steps in the project involve sharing project
findings and engaging with prospective
partners across sectors and developing an
Integrated National Strategy for Canada on
Mental Health Literacy.
Executive Summary
Sommaire
Exécutif
Full
Final Report Rapport
Final
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A review of the literature
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Mental Health
Literacy
The term mental
health literacy was first introduced in
Australia by Anthony Jorm. It is derived from
the term health literacy, originally defined as
a functional capacity related to basic literacy
skills and how these affect the ability of
people to access and use health information. In
recent years, the definition of health literacy
has expanded to include the development of
increasingly complex and interactive cognitive
and social skills, which are related to personal
and collective empowerment for health promotion.
At the 5th WHO Global Conference on Health
Promotion it was noted that health literacy is
not only a personal characteristic, but also a
key determinant of population health.
Mental health literacy has been defined as
“knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders
which aid their recognition, management or
prevention”. More recently, researchers have
suggested that mental health literacy is not a
single dimension but rather represents knowledge
and beliefs about mental health disorders that
emerge from general pre-existing belief systems.
Mental health literacy represents a relatively
new area of investigation. Compared
to health literacy, researchers and policymakers
have not yet articulated a comprehensive model
that organizes mental health literacy along a
gradient of evolving skills and capacities that
build empowerment for mental health promotion.
Recent work in the field however, such as the
beyondblue campaign in Australia, shows the
effectiveness of adopting a broad, multi-level
approach across several domains. This
paper applies the conceptual model for health
literacy to mental health literacy on the
assumption that the skills and capacities that
lead to personal and collective empowerment for
health promotion are no different from those
needed for mental health promotion. Full
Review
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