Public Health Approach to Children’s Mental Health

The Children’s Committee of the OMHSAS Advisory Committee recently formed a Public Health Workgroup to identify a framework for implementing mental health promotion efforts for children and families.

According to a 2007 Report to Congress by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, “promotion and prevention are key elements of a public health approach to mental health….The underlying premise of a public health approach is that it is inherently better to promote health and to prevent illness before an illness begins…. Fundamental to the public health approach is that mental health is everyone’s concern. Responsibility for promotion and prevention programs is shared across multiple systems, including schools, primary health care, mental health care, juvenile justice, child welfare, and substance abuse services.”

The following information is one part of the workgroup’s ongoing effort to focus on promoting the healthy social and emotional development of children and protecting children and families from the risk factors that can lead to mental health problems.

Mental Health and Wellness for Youth and Families
A regular column by Dr. Gordon R. Hodas, child psychiatric consultant to the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services

September 2009: “Advancing a Public Health Approach to Children’s Mental Health in Pennsylvania”

December 2009: “Public Endorsement by AACAP of the Need for Family and Youth Involvement in Clinical Decision-Making”
In October 2009, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) endorsed a policy statement in support of family and youth participation in clinical decision-making. This paper reviews the rationale for family and youth participation in clinical treatment, and the significance of AACAP’s policy statement for the field of mental health and human services.

March 2010: “Emotional Intelligence as a Protective Factor in Public Health”
Childhood sexual abuse is one of the most stressful life events for youth and suicidality (suicidal ideation and suicide attempts) represents one of the most serious responses to stressful life events. A recent study examined whether the presence of emotional intelligence is a protective factor against suicidal behaviors in youth with a history of childhood sexual abuse. The findings provide preliminary evidence that emotional intelligence is in fact a protective factor. This article also explores additional implications relevant to mental health and public health.

July 2010: "Food for Thought (and Health)"
Our choice of diet affects our mental health, not just our physical health. While there has been awareness of the importance of “good nutrition” on emotional functioning for many years, research on adult Australian women goes beyond this generalization, by comparing the effect of commonly followed dietary patterns on emotional stability in adult women. The results have implications for individual lifestyles and for public health prevention for all ages, including children and adolescents and their families.

Public Health Approach to Children’s Mental Health: A Conceptual Framework

The National Technical Assistance Center for Children’s Mental Health at Georgetown University recently published a monograph that “applies public health concepts to effort that support children’s mental health and development. “ Intervention activities described in the monograph include promoting positive mental, preventing and treating mental health problems, and “re/claiming” health while addressing a mental health problem. The complete monograph can be downloaded here.

Additional Resources (listed alphabetically):

About Our Kids (New York University Child Study Center)

Bright Futures: A Public Health Approach to  Mental Health (Georgetown University Child Development Center)

Children's Mental Health: What Every Policy Maker Should Know, published by the National Center for Children in Poverty, April 2010.

Family Education (Family Education Network)

Healthy Children, parenting web site from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Divided into user-friendly sections, such as “ages and stages” (developmental milestones and other health issues from infancy through adolescence), healthy living (including emotional wellness with information about resilience in children), safety and prevention, and health issues. You can also submit a question to a pediatrician or find a pediatrician in your area and there is a bookstore.

Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition: Each year in the US, more than 500,000 babies are born prematurely and an estimated 28,000 children die before their first birthday. In response to this national public health crisis, the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition (HMHB) has launched Text4baby, a free mobile information service that provides pregnant women and new moms with information to help them care for their health and give their babies the best possible start in life. 

KidsHealth (“most-visited site on the Web for information about health, behavior, and development from before birth through the teen years”)

Mental Health America (factsheet on What Every Child Needs for Good Mental Health)

Mental Health—A Public Approach: Developing a Prevention-Oriented Mental Health Sustem in Washington State (Washington State Board of Health, 2007)

National Association of Health Education Center (local educational resources dedicated to the current and future health of our nation's children)

National Mental Health Information Center (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration)

Promotion and Prevention in Mental Health: Strengthening Parenting and Enhancing Child Resilience (SAMHSA, 2007)

Promoting Mental Health: Concepts, Emerging Evidence (World Health Organization, 2004)

Strategies for System Change in Children’s Mental Health: A Chapter Action Kit (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2007)

Stop Underage Drinking: Portal of Federal Resources: www.stopalcoholabuse.gov. Public awareness campaign: "Talk Early, Talk Often. Get Involved:" www.underagedrinking.samhsa.gov

This Emotional Life (Three-part PBS series explores ways to improve our social relationships, cope with emotional issues, and become more positive, resilient individuals.)

Trauma Faced by Children of Military Families: What Every Policymaker Should Know, National Center for Children in Poverty, May 2010

Your Typically Developing Child (Minnesota's Our Children Succeed Initiative

Strengthening Families Through Early Care and Education

Pennsylvania is one of 17 state affiliates of the Strengthening Families National Network and is working to implement the Strengthening Families approach in early childhood programs.

Strengthening Families is a project of the Center for the Study of Social Policy and emphasizes five protective factors that not only reduce the incidence of child abuse and neglect but also encourage healthy social and emotional development. These protective factors are:

• Parental resilience: the ability of parents to cope with challenges
• Social connections: friends, family members, neighbors and other community members who provide emotional support and assistance to parents
• Knowledge of parenting and child development: accurate information about child development and how to appropriately discipline young children
• Concrete support in times of need:  financial, formal and informal supports
• Children’s emotional and social competence: child’s ability to interact positively with others and communicate emotions effectively.

Early childhood programs can use an online self-assessment tool to help them begin to build the protective with families.