ProMenpol - Mental Health Promotion

Cultural Diversity Toolkit: A toolkit for organisational success

Tilia Bousios — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:30:06 GMT

Cultural Diversity Toolkit: A toolkit for organisational success Hogan, M. & Crowe, D.

Gute Mitarbeiterführung Psychische Fehlbelastung vermeiden

Tilia Bousios — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 10:03:57 GMT

Gute Mitarbeiterführung Psychische Fehlbelastung vermeiden Klaus Dieckhoff, Thomas Hoffmann

Die (Re-)Integration leistungsgewandelter Mitarbeiter in den Arbeitsprozess- Das Projekt FILM bei Ford Köln

Tilia Bousios — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 12:36:54 GMT

Die (Re-)Integration leistungsgewandelter Mitarbeiter in den Arbeitsprozess- Das Projekt FILM bei Ford Köln Sibylle Adenauer

Psychische Gesundheit am Arbeitsplatz in Deutschland

Tilia Bousios — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 12:36:47 GMT

Psychische Gesundheit am Arbeitsplatz in Deutschland Berufsverbandes Deutscher Psychologinnen und Psychologen e.V. (BDP)

Wohlbefinden im Büro

Tilia Bousios — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 12:36:31 GMT

Wohlbefinden im Büro Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizin

Psychische Belastungen am Arbeitsplatz – Ursachen, Folgen und Handlungsfelder der Prävention

Tilia Bousios — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 11:29:48 GMT

Psychische Belastungen am Arbeitsplatz – Ursachen, Folgen und Handlungsfelder der Prävention Dr. Peter Stadler

Psychische Belastungen am Arbeitsplatz – Ursachen, Folgen und Handlungsfelder der Prävention

Tilia Bousios — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 11:29:43 GMT

Psychische Belastungen am Arbeitsplatz – Ursachen, Folgen und Handlungsfelder der Prävention Dr. Peter Stadler

Auswirkungen psychischer Belastung nach der DIN EN ISO - 10075-1

Tilia Bousios — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 11:29:38 GMT

Auswirkungen psychischer Belastung nach der DIN EN ISO - 10075-1 Bundesanstalt für Arbeitschutz und Arbeitsmedizin

ProMenPol Newsletter No.12 Now Available

Tilia Bousios — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:44:34 GMT

The 12th ProMenPol Newsletter, December 2009 edition, is now available for downloading in PDF format.

Newsletter Issue No. 12

Tilia Bousios — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:21:00 GMT

ProMenPol Credits

Dear colleagues, After the successful completion of the ProMenPol project this will be our last newsletter. The ProMenPol Team would like to take the opportunity to thank everybody for their enormous support, contribution and feedback. We have enjoyed working with you. New challenges and projects are coming up and we would like to place ProMenPol also in your hands. Once you have registered as a member for the ProMenPol website (free registration), you have several possibilities to disseminate your own events, news, documents and even tools. For a short explanation how this can be done, please scroll down to the end of this newsletter.
We are quite confident that ProMenPol lives on, therefore let this rather be a bye-for-now instead of a farewell.
All the best,
Dr. Karl Kuhn
on behalf of the ProMenPol-Team

The Mental Health Promotion Network (MHPNet)

The ProMenPol database includes more than 400 globally available tools. With the end of this project the members of the ProMenPol consortium have decided to continue the work and maintenance of the website. Moreover, the consortium sees the need to create a global network for mental health promotion building on the work ProMenPol and offering a broad scope of mental health promotion tools.

Mental Health Promotion is a top priority not only for Europe: the economic crisis has shown that the burden of this crisis manifests itself in mental ill health. To promote the resilience of individuals with innovative tools is one of the future ambitions of MHPNet.

A lot of policies show the need for such a network:

One of the four priority areas of the 2005 re-launch of the Lisbon Strategy on Growth and Jobs has been to ‘invest in people and modernise labour markets’. More specifically, the objectives of the strategy include improving the skills, employability and adaptability of the workforce, as well as promoting the functioning of labour markets in the EU, including the greater participation of population groups that currently face difficulties and may be excluded from the labour market. Promoting and maintaining good mental health and wellbeing in the workplace is of key relevance to the achievement of these objectives across the European Union.

This importance of mental health and wellbeing is also recognised in the Community Strategy on Health and Safety at Work for 2007-2012. This refers to the contribution that guaranteeing quality and productivity at work can play in promoting economic growth and employment. It highlights the common and increasing contributions of stress and poor mental health as reasons for work absenteeism and occupational disability. Taking account of projections from the WHO that psychological problems will be the principle source of incapacity by 2020, it advocates a change towards a more preventive culture, including making the promotion of mental health at the workplace a priority.

The Commission White Paper "Together for Health: A Strategic Approach for the EU 2008-2013" in emphasising the substantial economic costs of mental disorders, noted that the majority of these are due to lost productivity in the workplace. Community actions in the field of mental health and measures to promote the health of the workforce were announced in this document.

With over 800 newsletter recipients, over 250 conference participants, 60 policy workshop participants and more than 40.000 hits per month on the website, the ProMenPol project has already created an informal network in the field of mental health promotion across Europe. In the context of two follow-up projects the enhancement this network is ensured. Additionally, two new projects will build on the ProMenPol work with 1) the conceptualisation of an MHP E-learning tool and 2) the preparation of handbooks for mental health promotion.

Until the network has been formalised in a more official way, the ProMenPol newsletter will be continued on a quarterly basis on behalf of the network. More information about the follow-up projects and network activities will be available at www.mentalhealthpromotion.net

John Henderson

In early January we heard the sad news the Dr. John Henderson, a member of the ProMenPol project team whom many of you will have known and respected, died on the 4th January. John passed away peacefully at home, in the company of his family, and after a characteristically determined and dignified fight with cancer.
John served Mental Health Europe as a senior policy adviser, and the Director of Mental Health Europe, Mary van Dievel said:

"We will all deeply miss him, but we are lucky to have such good memories of all he has done. John was a true European, believing deeply in the benefits that come with partnerships and collaboration in Europe and the European Union. He dedicated his life to improve the lives of others less fortunate. Lately he had been involved in working towards a better mental health for people and communities in Europe. We will not only miss John for the warm person he was, but we will also miss the wisdom he had and shared."

Writing in The Scotsman newspaper, Dr Bill Boyd summarised some of John's career achievements:

Returning in 1980 to Europe, this time as the mental health adviser to WHO's European office in Copenhagen, he remained for the next five years involved in developing a wide range of mental health programmes across Europe at a time of considerable political and social upheaval. His work focused on the reform of psychiatry and the de-institutionalisation of outdated asylums in eastern European countries, helping to ensure they addressed some of the appalling human rights abuses suffered by the mentally ill.

He threw himself into the European mental health scene - first with the European Council of the World Federation of Mental Health, becoming president from 1994-97."

Some of you will know Gregor and Nigel, two of John's four sons through their work on mental health work. Over the last few years I came to know him through the work I have been doing on an EU level. John was a psychiatrist, in the social mould. He cared for people, not disorders, and from his early days in practice in Aberdeenshire to his last days of work only months ago, he was tirelessly committed to the cause, and took it, with eloquence and effect to the highest levels of policy and government.

At the Scottish Office and later with the WHO in South East Asia and Europe, John championed dignity for people with mental illness, de-institutionalisation, recovery, and person centeredness. When he retired from clinical practice he continued to work tirelessly for NGOs in mental health.

He was one of the international observers who worked with the EC and Greek government to open up the hospital on the island of Leros, where many people with mental health problems were treated appallingly, isolated and restrained. He helped change the system, with the support of the EC and the government, bridging the gaps, and bringing together disparate viewpoints. He continued this work in eastern and south-eastern Europe in the last decade. He will be sorely missed there.

John managed to reach and influence policy and politicians at highest level, whilst never 'selling short' the ordinary man or vulnerable person for the often tempting compromise that risks being a lowest common denominator. He taught me a lot about dancing on that line, about harnessing passion and drive so it becomes fusion and not fission. I was privileged indeed to be able to call on his advice, and learn at his feet.

Chris O'Sullivan

Dissemination Possibilities with ProMenPol Website

The ProMenPol website was designed to act as a pan-European gateway to results, documentation and related issues emanating from the project. Additionally, the website holds several possibilities for registered members to disseminate their own results, tools, events and news.

For ProMenPol members accessible parts of the website include the following sections:

News & Events: Here latest developments in the field of mental health promotion can be published ranging from conference announcements, project launches, new publications to policy developments. Newly added events and news will be displayed in the right hand column on the ProMenPol website’s main page.

Projects: Here projects related to mental health (and its promotion) can be entered and described. Mainly projects which are primarily undertaken on a European level have been entered. However the section is open to actions on national and local level, too.

Networks and other Organisations: The section contains links to mental health associated networks and organisations.

Policy Documents: Policy related documents in the field of mental health (promotion), such as the European Pact for Mental Health and Well-Being are entered here. These policy documents may relate to activities and actions on both a European level as well as a national level.

Bibliography: References to (scientific) articles regarding mental health and public health are provided in this section. The section is open to English references as well as publications in other languages.

Database: In addition to retrieving tools form the ProMenPol Database, it is also possible for registered members to upload tools to the database themselves.

In addition, registered member receive the ProMenPol newsletter which is send out on a quarterly basis and is used as a vehicle to disseminate information about latest developments in the field mental health promotion.

In order to become a ProMenPol member users must sign up using the ‘Sign up Now!’ link provided on the left side of the screen – just below the ‘Login’ button in the Members Area.

Once accessed, users are provided with the ‘Members Area-ProMenPol Registration’ screen which requests the users email address for verification purposes and the commencement of the registration process.

Please Note, when the ‘start registration’ button is clicked an e-mail notification will be automatically sent to the user’s e-mail along with their members password.

Once a valid email is entered and the start registration button is clicked users are provided with the following ‘Members Profile’ screen (next page).

The Members Profile screen asks users to complete basic information about themselves and the respective organisation that they represent. Additionally, questions about how they would like to engage with the project are asked as is the privacy question “Make My Profile Visible to the Public?”.

Once the registration process is completed, users may then login using the ‘members area login’ screen and begin to add their events, news, publications and tools to the ProMenPol database.

A full description on how to enter tools in the ProMenPol database can be found at: ProMenPol Database Description

Download Newsletter No.: 12

John Henderson - A True Champion and Friend

Tilia Bousios — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:09:00 GMT

John served Mental Health Europe as a senior policy adviser, and the Director of Mental Health Europe, Mary van Dievel said:

"We will all deeply miss him, but we are lucky to have such good memories of all he has done. John was a true European, believing deeply in the benefits that come with partnerships and collaboration in Europe and the European Union. He dedicated his life to improve the lives of others less fortunate. Lately he had been involved in working towards a better mental health for people and communities in Europe. We will not only miss John for the warm person he was, but we will also miss the wisdom he had and shared."

Writing in The Scotsman newspaper, Dr Bill Boyd summarised some of John's career achievements:

"In 1976 he was appointed mental health adviser to the World Health Organisation's south-east Asia office. Based in New Delhi, Henderson brought his expertise and passion to a huge "parish", which stretched from Pakistan to Outer Mongolia, serving a quarter of the world's population. His accounts of his travels and his meetings with local political, medical and community leaders were always fascinating, and his special skills in firm and fair diplomacy, and his experience and abilities in bringing people, professions and politicians together helped make an impact in a region where, at the time, mental health and the rights of people with mental illness were significantly neglected.

Returning in 1980 to Europe, this time as the mental health adviser to WHO's European office in Copenhagen, he remained for the next five years involved in developing a wide range of mental health programmes across Europe at a time of considerable political and social upheaval. His work focused on the reform of psychiatry and the de-institutionalisation of outdated asylums in eastern European countries, helping to ensure they addressed some of the appalling human rights abuses suffered by the mentally ill.

He threw himself into the European mental health scene - first with the European Council of the World Federation of Mental Health, becoming president from 1994-97."

Some of you will know Gregor and Nigel, two of John's four sons through their work on mental health work. Over the last few years I came to know him through the work I have been doing on an EU level. John was a psychiatrist, in the social mould. He cared for people, not disorders, and from his early days in practice in Aberdeenshire to his last days of work only months ago, he was tirelessly committed to the cause, and took it, with eloquence and effect to the highest levels of policy and government.

Chris O'Sullivan

Living Conditions, Social Exclusion and Mental Wellbeing – Second European Quality of Life Survey

Tilia Bousios — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 17:36:43 GMT

The European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) was conducted by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) for the first time in 2003, covering 28 countries (the 15 EU Member States, 12 forthcoming Member States and Turkey). Eurofound’s second wave of the EQLS, which was carried out in 2007, offers a wide-ranging view of the diverse social realities in 31 countries – the current 27 EU Member States, along with Norway and the three candidate countries of Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey. Many of the questions posed in the first EQLS in 2003 were asked again, on issues such as employment, income, education, housing, family, health, work–life balance, life satisfaction and perceived quality of society. In 2008, Eurofound commissioned secondary analyses of the EQLS data around key policy themes. The selected themes for the first set of secondary analyses are the following: trends in quality of life in Europe 2003–2008; living conditions, social exclusion and mental well-being; family life and work; subjective well-being; and quality of society and public services. This analytical report focuses on the theme of living conditions, social exclusion and mental well-being. It draws on the results of the EQLS to examine the factors that influence perceived social exclusion and the impact that this has on mental well-being. Such factors include labour market access, income and lifestyle standards, and access to social support. The scope of the findings – spanning 31 countries – offers an important insight into how social exclusion and integration vary across Europe, given the different cultural and historical contexts as well as recent social and economic experiences.

Over the past two decades, there has been a major shift in the European debate regarding social progress and how it is measured. The concept of social exclusion has increasingly replaced the concept of poverty within the EU policy discussion on social vulnerability and disadvantage. Unfavourable labour market access and living conditions affect both social participation and social contact, which in turn impact on the quality of life of Europe’s citizens and influence their perception of social exclusion. This report looks at the relationships between living conditions, social exclusion and mental well-being. It draws on the results of the EQLS to examine the factors that influence perceived social exclusion and the impact that this has on mental well-being. Such factors include labour market access, income and lifestyle standards, and availability of social support. The following areas are covered in this report; Brief history and conceptual overview Perceived social exclusion and reported social contact Impact of social conditions on perceived social exclusion Social support, living conditions and perceived social exclusion Impact of living conditions and perceived social exclusion on mental well-being

European Network Training and Education in Occupational Health and Safety (ENETOSH)

Tilia Bousios — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 12:38:12 GMT

The European Network Education and Training in Occupational Safety and Health (ENETOSH) offers a platform for systematic knowledge-sharing on issues concerning education and training in occupational safety and health. The fundamental aim of ENETOSH is to promote quality in education and training in occupational safety and health. It does so by actively collaborating in a transnational network, systematically collecting and assessing examples of good practice as well as developing a joint standard of competence for teachers in occupational safety and health in Europe. The European Network Education and Training in Occupational Safety and Health (ENETOSH) offers a platform for systematic knowledge-sharing on issues concerning education and training in occupational safety and health. The fundamental aim of ENETOSH is to promote quality in education and training in occupational safety and health. It does so by actively collaborating in a transnational network, systematically collecting and assessing examples of good practice as well as developing a joint standard of competence for teachers in occupational safety and health in Europe.

Working our Way to Better Mental Health: A Framework for Action

Evi Kostakou — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 12:14:00 GMT

Mental ill-health presents a major challenge to the well-being of our society, and the strength of our economy. It blights lives, traps people in poverty and prevents the country harnessing the talents and potential of hundreds of thousands of people. Government is determined to lead the way in meeting this challenge. Poor mental health is very common. At any one time, one in three of our working-age population may be experiencing some kind of distress or mental health condition such as depression. The vast majority, fortunately, will recover quickly. But for far too many, the result is a lengthy sickness absence or long-term unemployment. Indeed mental ill-health is now the most common reason for claiming health-related benefits and 86 per cent remain on the benefits for more than three months (compared to 76 per cent for all other claimants). And the evidence shows that the longer people are detached from the labour market, the less chance they have of returning to work. This is even more of a risk when, as now, global economic problems are pushing up jobless figures around the world. We have learnt from past recessions of the real danger of short-term job loss turning into permanent unemployment and are determined not to repeat these mistakes. The positive link between employment and mental health is absolutely clear. Research shows people generally enjoy better mental health when they are in work. In contrast, the longer individuals are absent or out of work, the more likely they are to experience depression or anxiety. Work can therefore play a vital role in improving everyone’s well-being and mental health. Of this we estimate around one third - £30-40 billion – can be attributed to mental ill-health, in lost production, and National Health Service (NHS) treatment. And it does not count the additional and hidden cost of people with mental health conditions still in jobs but working beneath their full potential. A modern economy cannot afford such waste of individual talent nor the high welfare costs. We are determined to step up our efforts to support people in work and to help those out of work to return quickly to fulfilling and rewarding employment.

This document establishes a cross-government approach to tackling this cost and waste. It has been developed with the support of Dame Carol Black, the National Director for Health and Work, who consulted mental health specialists, senior academics, representatives from business and third sector organisations, as well as people with mental health conditions. The framework for action has a dual approach. It is designed to:

Improve well-being at work for everyone; and
Deliver significantly better employment results for people with mental health conditions, supporting then into work, helping them to stay in work and assisting them to return to work more quickly after sickness absences.

This is a challenging agenda – made even more so by the current economic conditions. But the Government believes the economic climate makes it even more important to step in to help people through new and effective solutions. The framework identifies six key areas where action is vital to achieve our goals. They are:

Action to change attitudes to mental health.
Action to improve health and well-being at work for the whole population.
Swift intervention when things go wrong.
Co-ordinated help tailored to individuals’ needs both in and out of work.
Action to build resilience from early years and throughout working lives.
Co-ordinated action across government to ensure we deliver success. Action on employment and mental health must be a long-term commitment.

The wider aim of this comprehensive programme for action is to influence future policy development across governments, departments and throughout the wider public sector, and bring about changes in behaviour in organisations and individuals. And it is designed to build a long-term commitment to joint working between Government and its partners. Together we can work our way to better mental health.

Working our Way to Better Mental Health: A Framework for Action

Tilia Bousios — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 12:12:00 GMT

Improve well-being at work for everyone; and
Deliver significantly better employment results for people with mental health conditions, supporting then into work, helping them to stay in work and assisting them to return to work more quickly after sickness absences.

Action to change attitudes to mental health. • Action to improve health and well-being at work for the whole population.
Swift intervention when things go wrong. • Co-ordinated help tailored to individuals’ needs both in and out of work.
Action to build resilience from early years and throughout working lives.
Co-ordinated action across government to ensure we deliver success. Action on employment and mental health must be a long-term commitment.

Ensuring Continuous Progress

Evi Kostakou — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:29:36 GMT

Aims

To ensure that the MHP programme is improved as it proceeds
To ensure that future MHP programmes are optimally designed

What Needs to be Done

The purpose of this activity is to ensure that the MHP programme is subject to continuous improvement as it proceeds. In addition, when a given MHP programme has been completed, it is important to ensure that any subsequent programmes take account of the experiences gained in running the first one.

These can only be undertaken effectively if there is adequate monitoring and evaluation information collected. In the case of improving the quality of a programme while it is running, monitoring information needs to be available in a timely and understandable fashion. In addition, the project must be set up in such a way that relevant information is communicated to people who are in a position to make changes to the programme, i.e. the project manager and those involved directly in implementation.

In the case of seeking to improve subsequent programmes, the timeliness of information is less urgent. However, the quality of the information needs to be high, as it must serve two functions – it must be sufficiently detailed to allow for programme design decisions to be made and it must be sufficiently persuasive to allow it to be used to influence decision makers to sanction new MHP programmes.

The activities of this phase are key to achieving better MHP both over the lifecycle of a specific programme and also over the course of multiple MHP programmes.

Who is Involved?

Project Manager, Project Team, Programme Implementers, Decision Makers

Carrying out Plans

Evi Kostakou — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:29:36 GMT

Aims

To communicate to participants the activities that have been selected and how they may become involved in them.
To implement each activity according to the schedule.

What Needs to be Done

Before implementing any of the activities of the MHP programme, it is important to ensure that all products; aids, materials, programme facilities and whatever is needed to run the activity is available in sufficient quantities and ready to use. Prior to the implementation of an activity a meeting should take place for all involved in the running of the activity to make sure that everything is organised and that everyone is clear on their responsibilities.

For some activities or improvements it can be useful to pre-test them in practice, before introducing them on a larger scale in the setting. Conducting a pre-test activity is also a useful way to gather participant’s reactions to the activity.

You will need to inform those involved of when the activity will be run, the duration of the activity, the cost (if any) and determine the number of individuals interested in participating in the activity.

Incentives are a useful way to encourage and maintain effective involvement during the implementation of activities. Depending on the setting, incentives such as providing T-shirts, rebates on course fees, or cash payments can encourage people to enrol in an activity or programme.

Who is Involved?

The main participants here are the Project Manager, who directs and manages the activities and the people responsible for implementing each MHP activity. The target groups will be involved as participants in the activity.

Project Planning

Evi Kostakou — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:29:35 GMT

Aim

To produce a project plan that enables the project to proceed efficiently

What Needs to be Done

This activity will produce a project plan that will enable all of the participants in the project to be clear on what will happen, when it will happen, who will do it and what resources will be applied to it. The specific elements of the project plan will be:

Aims of the project
Targets of the project
Activities to be undertaken
Responsibilities and accountabilities
Budget for the project
Project schedule
Expected outcomes of the project
Contingency plans
Training needs
Resources required
Monitoring procedures

This plan will be used both for communication and project management purposes, i.e. all of the stakeholders should be aware of its details and the project manager will use it manage the operations of the project.

The plan should be implemented in a flexible manner to take account of any changes in circumstances that occur during the project.

Who is Involved?

The Project Team are responsible of developing the project plan. The project manager is responsible for its implementation.

You should note that there may be a need to change the membership of the project team at this stage and to appoint a different Project Manager. The tasks of implementing the plan are quite different to all of the activities that have taken place up until this stage. Technical and managerial skills may be needed for the remaining activities the remaining activities (depending on their nature) and these may not exist within the original project team. In addition, it is important to try to integrate the project into the mainstream of the operations of the setting – selecting a project manager who is in the mainstream will help this goal.

Selecting MHP Tools

Evi Kostakou — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:29:35 GMT

Aim

To select the mental health promotion tools and interventions that are most appropriate for the project

What Needs to be Done

Selecting the right MHP tools and interventions for the project is key to its success. There is a very wide range of tools available that can potentially help the implementation process. The problem for most projects is not a lack of available tools but easily identifiable and useful tools. Often the MHP implementer is confused by the information about potential tools in terms of their reliability, previous usage and how well they fit their needs.

The ProMenPol database of tools provides a guide to some of the more robust tools that are available for implementation in any of the three settings. If you need a guide to the kinds of tools that are available, this is a good place to start your search. In addition, the setting specific Toolkit-Manuals will guide you in making a choice.

Some technical knowledge is useful in making the selection of MHP tools for the MHP project. The key issue in making a selection is to ensure that the tools selected are appropriate for the kind of project you will undertake and meeting the needs of your target group.

Where possible, you should try to use MHP tools that have been evaluated, as this gives you a better chance of successfully meeting your goals. There may be circumstances where you may wish to uses tools that do not have a strong record of evaluation, such as when new tools are being launched, but even in these circumstances you should look for clear information about the quality of the tools and the support that may available when using it.

The ProMenPol Toolkit contains information on the amount of evaluation information that is available for each tool within the database.

Who is Involved?

The Project Team, backed up by technical expertise if needed.

Setting Targets

Evi Kostakou — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:29:35 GMT

Aim

To establish the targets for the MHP programme.

What Needs to be Done

The main task here is to set targets for the MHP programme. This activity is undertaken by the project team and, will in consultation with the major stakeholders in the setting, establish the parameters of the MHP programme. These include:

The aims of the programme – these should be set in terms that are measurable
The numbers of beneficiaries of the programme
The desired outcomes of the programme in terms, for example, mental wellbeing improvements. The desired outcomes may also be set in terms of intermediate outcomes, such as levels of social support, reductions in reports of bullying, numbers of visitors and so on.
The duration of the programme – it is important here to allow enough time for the programme to take effect.
The benefits of the programme for the beneficiaries.

The needs analysis should provide the basis for setting the targets – this will provide you with a list of issues to be addressed and an assessment of how important they are in relation to each other.

When the targets for the programme are set, you must communicate these with the major stakeholders within the setting. This will help to maintain the momentum of the programme and set realistic expectations for what might be achieved. Feedback should be taken and used to amend the programme targets.

Who is Involved?

The Project Team are involved in drafting the programme targets. The beneficiaries of the programme (or their representatives) are involved on providing feedback on these targets.

Gathering and Analysing Data

Evi Kostakou — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:29:35 GMT

Gathering and Analysing Data
Setting Targets
Selecting MHP Tools
Project Planning

1a Needs Analysis - Gathering Data

Aim

To define the setting’s mental health problems and needs on the basis of existing and newly collected information

What Needs to be Done

This activity has two tasks:

Gathering existing information on problems and needs
Collecting new information on problems and needs

The range and type of existing information available will vary according to the setting you are operating in. However, all settings will have information available that will be useful in identifying the mental health promotion needs of the target groups for the programme. For example, schools may have information available on pupil attendance and teacher’s reports; workplaces may have absenteeism and health and safety information while older people’s residences may have information on health status, number of visits and so on. All of these types of information may provide useful insights into mental health promotion needs.

It will also be necessary to collect new information which is more targeted to the setting and the kinds of mental health promotions needs that you expect to identify. In schools, for example, this may relate to bullying or peer support for children; in workplaces it may relate to stress at work or absence from work, while in older people’s residences, it may relate to loneliness or cognitive functioning.

A range of methods may be used to collect this information. They may involve using interviews, questionnaires, group based techniques or objective tests.

The procedures to be used for collecting this information will vary according to the setting that you are operating in – more detail on these procedures can be found in the setting specific toolkit.

Who is Involved?

The Project Team
The Target Group

1b Needs Analysis – Analysing Data

Aims

To analyse the data gathered from existing sources in order to generate an initial list of problems and needs.
To analyse the survey data and identify the main problems and needs of the target group.
To generate a report on the outcomes of the questionnaire analysis and report this to the key stakeholders in the setting

What Needs to be Done

Depending on the type, quality and quantity of data, appropriate data analysis procedures must be applied. In most cases, data analysis may be undertaken by the project team or by the project team under the supervision of an expert. However, in cases where working with confidential data is a significant concern, it may be necessary to consider appointing someone outside the setting like an external expert, or someone trusted within the setting such as a physician to perform the data analysis.

The focus of the data analysis activity is to have a problem and action orientation. Interpretation of the data in this phase will require the data to be broken down by the major demographic factors and the setting conditions. Taking the workplace as an example, information on the rate of absenteeism is in itself not meaningful in terms of needs identification. However, absenteeism rates in relation to causes, workforce demography or workplace location can provide useful information.

All of the information obtained in the needs analysis phase should be integrated during this activity.

The process of analysing data, while requiring some expertise, should be guided by the project team, and not left to an expert. In particular, it is essential that the project team pose a set of questions which are to be answered by the person undertaking the analysis. Examples of typical questions include:

What are the most important mental health problems in the setting?
Which groups within the setting report the poorest mental health?
What are the most important actions which could be taken to improve mental health?
What factors seem to influence mental health the most?

Questions such as these (and also more detailed ones) should be presented to the person undertaking the analysis of the data so that the process of identifying the most important problems can be driven by the project team as representatives of the setting.

A final issue which should be addressed during the analysis concerns confidentiality. While it goes without saying that information security procedures should be maintained, confidentiality can be breached when reporting on the data. This can arise if the groups identified in the analysis are too small. For example, a report which states that a group of five people in a specific area have reported particularly poor mental health, enabling the identification of individual persons. As a rule of thumb, it is desirable that no analysis should be performed on groups of less than twenty people.

It should be noted that there are other ethical issues apart from confidentiality which may apply, particularly in the schools and older people’s residences settings. For examples, there are issues related to duty of care, non-malfeasance and obtaining informed consent to take part in an MHP programme which need to be addressed. These settings specific concerns are addressed in more detail in the settings specific manuals for MHP.

Who is Involved?

The Project Team is responsible for the analysis of the data and may engage an expert (internal or external) to assist them with this task.

Welcome to the ProMenPol Toolkit

Tilia Bousios — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:29:00 GMT

The ProMenPol toolkit consists of 4 inter-related manuals on how to implement mental health promotion. These are outlined below:

Each of these manuals can be downloaded as a PDF document, but you can also use the Generic Manual online as a means of navigating your way through the tools database.

The Generic Manual outlines an approach to implementing MHP that can be used in any of the settings. The settings specific manuals provide advice on issues that are particular to each setting.

If you wish to use the Generic Manual online, you can use the diagram below as a means of navigation. You can also use the menu on the left hand side to help in navigation.

Developing a Project Team

Evi Kostakou — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:41:33 GMT

Aim

Establish project team

What Needs to be Done

This activity is perhaps the most important activity in the Preparations phase - it builds the concrete structures which will be needed for the MHP process to proceed. The more secure the foundations which are built here, the easier the process will become and the more far-reaching the effects of the MHP project will be.

Establishing a Project Team

There are two ways of establishing a project team:

By adapting existing setting structures (e.g. health and safety committees); or
By setting up a new team with the explicit brief to support the MHP process.

The issues which need to be addressed here include the membership of the team to run the project, who will the team report to, what will the function or brief of the team be, and what communications channels will it use?

The brief of the project team will vary according to the size of the MHP project, the level of formality within the setting, the resources available to the project and the nature of the MHP project itself.

Scoping the Project

Evi Kostakou — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:41:33 GMT

Aim

Establish the brief of the MHP project
Gather existing information on the mental health activities within the setting

What Needs to be Done

The goal of this activity is to situate the MHP project within the context of ongoing operations of the setting. It involves defining the brief for the project, what problems it is expected to solve, what resources are likely to be involved etc. It also involves gathering information on existing activities within the setting. This activity is mainly an exercise in understanding the setting, the nature of its current health related activities and the nature of the problem which the MHP project will address.

An important task is to make an inventory of health activities which already take place within the setting. This information is important, not only because it prevents duplication of effort, but because it will provide a good level of insight into the health philosophy of the setting.

Information about current health activities and possible problems which may be solved by MHP programmes is usually gained by conducting interviews with the principal stakeholders.

Who is Involved?

Scoping the extent of the MHP project needs to be undertaken by someone who has an in-depth knowledge of the MHP process and who can provide information on what the project typically involves in terms of resources, types of activities, levels of commitment, etc. Some settings will have in-house expertise, for example from the occupational health department, the human resource department or from general management while other settings may need to bring in an external consultant to support this activity.

Communications

Evi Kostakou — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:41:32 GMT

Aim

Establish communication channels and reporting relationships for the project

Communications and Reporting

There is a need to set up communications channels and reporting relationships. Most settings already have these structures in place and you should try to integrate communications and reporting procedures for the MHP project into the existing structures. As one of the more difficult tasks in any initiative is that of communications, appropriate channels need to be set up at an early stage to promote the effective participation of all stakeholders. Consideration should be given to the following issues when setting up these channels:

Which groups are the targets of communication?
What kinds of messages are to be sent?
What are the communications mechanisms in the organisation?
How is progress feedback to be communicated to the project team?

You also need to address reporting relationships. One of the dangers in setting up a project is that it becomes isolated from the normal decision making machinery of the setting. This involves seeking and maintaining reporting relationships with the strategic, financial and human resource functions within the setting.

Who is Involved?

The network of people involved in setting up the project and the main stakeholders will be involved in selecting people to participate in the project team. These should also be involved in identifying channels of communication and agreeing reporting relationships for the project.

Welcome to the ProMenPol Website

Tilia Bousios — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:52:00 GMT

This is the website of the ProMenPol project which aims to support the practices and policies of mental health promotion over the 2006-2009 period in three settings: schools, workplaces and older people’s residences.

To do so, ProMenPol has produced the following services and outputs:

Tools Database
Field trials
Policy Workshops
Practictioners Conferences
ProMenPol Toolkit
Forums

The following Fact Sheet summarises the project's activities. ProMenPol Fact Sheet

Register as a PROMENPOL Member

PROMENPOL is a free service that enables its Members to upload documents on to various parts of the ProMenPol website in addition to receiving the PROMENPOL Newsletter.

Forums

Tilia Bousios — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:59:17 GMT

Welcome to the ProMenPol user forums. These forums are intended for use by all Members of the PromenPol website and they offer you the opportunity to discuss mental health promotion issues with fellow ProMenPol Members and with the ProMenPol Project team.

There are five forums in operation now – three of these are concerned with undertaking field trials in the schools, workplace and older people’s residences settings. Here we would like to generate discussion and to provide support for people who are implementing a field trial. However, any Member is welcome to join in to these discussions.

The ProMenPol Database

Tilia Bousios — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 13:21:00 GMT

Welcome to the ProMenPol Database !

The ProMenPol Database is a structured selection of Mental Health Promotion tools in three distinct settings:

Schools
The Workplace and
Older Peoples’ Residence.

Within these settings the associated Mental Health Promotion tools are structured according to a modification of the ICF Classification, ICD10 Classification and a categorisation based on Health Promotion models.

The ProMenPol Database and its associated Tools can be accessed in a number of ways by clicking on the links on the left hand part of the screen.

These links include:

Browsing the Database – which enables the user to view the entire ProMenPol Database in the language selected. Within this option you can also add your own tools either in English, German, Dutch Estonian or Finnish by simply registering as a ProMenPol Member.
Simple Search – which enables users to search the entirety of the ProMenPol database regardless of language based on a pre-selected number of filters.
Advanced Keyword Search – which enables users to execute an Advanced Keyword Search based on the ICF Classification, ICD10 Classification and a categorisation based on Health Promotion models.

A detailed description of the different functionalities is provided. ProMenPol Database Description

You can also add your own tools either in English, German, Dutch, Estonian or Finnish by simply registering as a ProMenPol Member and accessing the language of your choice from the pull down menu at the top of the screen.

Field Trials

Tilia Bousios — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 09:15:34 GMT

Final Lessons from the Field Trials

In the course of the ProMenPol project several organisations and institutions from different settings have conducted Field Trials of MHP tools or reported on prior mental health promotion (MHP) implementation experiences. The aim of the Field Trials was to obtain experiences from practice on the implementation of MHP tools.

Several pilot sites reported on the lessons learned during implementation. The responses from practice provide significant insights which can help to strengthen the mental health capacity of institutions and organisations. Furthermore, the feedback from various practices will help to strengthen the links between practice, science and policy in the field of mental health promotion and protection.

Through its Field Trials, ProMenPol has received practice reports from six schools, seven workplaces and three older people’s residences. A total of 16 reports are available, which describe the learning experiences and recommendations which can be drawn for policy and practice in the field.

The majority of organisations and institutions had a good or very good experience of implementation and most reported that their MHP initiative succeeded. The desired goals were achieved and the Field Trials reported a high level of acceptance for the MHP tools used. In addition, the target groups (pupils, employees or residents) reported high levels of satisfaction. Field Trial participants reported valuable and sustainable organisational changes, including positive effects on mental health and an increased sense of well-being among the individuals involved.

In addition, the Pilot Sites provided valuable feedback and lessons learned. In relation to the practice of MHP, the lessons learned were:

Increased awareness and knowledge of mental health promotion
The importance of using well designed and structured, user-friendly and easy to implement MHP initiatives
The benefits of using project management techniques
The need to tailor the intervention to the specific needs of your target group (respect the diversity of the target group and involve them in the planning if possible)
Ensure high levels of participation
Adapt the MHP tool as necessary (e.g. avoid overlapping with existing initiatives)
Make sure you have enough preparation and implementation time and make a realistic schedule for the initiative
Provide appropriate training, resources and a supportive and encouraging environment
Seek the support and involvement of skilled staff
Evaluate the MHP implementation on a continuous basis.

In relation to MHP policy, the lessons learned included:

Ensure sufficient resources (e.g. skilled staff, training) and financial support (e.g. funding, grants) are available
There is a need to have a developmental element to policy (e.g. parental work, staff support, counselling)
There is a need for Mental Health education and curriculum development (e.g. primary and secondary schools but also for trainers in the field)
Conduct awareness programmes on MHP (e.g. media campaigns such as anti-stigma)
Find local MHP champions for policy initiatives
Integrate MHP in physical activity programmes and in health and safety laws
Support the development of co-operative relationships and networks between experts and practitioners in the field
Promote a more widespread discussion about MHP and well-being issues in a larger context

Members' Area

Tilia Bousios — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 09:45:00 GMT

PROMENPOL Registration

If you have not registered with PROMENPOL, enter your e-mail address in the form below and click the Start Registration button.

PROMENPOL is a free service that enables its Members to upload tools to the ProMenPol Database and documents to various parts of the ProMenPol website in addition to receiving the PROMENPOL Newsletter.