Prevention Policy Development
Results from the Prevention Summit, which took place on May 13, 2008, are currently being analyzed and compiled. A high-level look at those results
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3.7MB] is available now. In the coming weeks, we will be issuing both a report and an action plan for next steps.
Mental Health—A Public Health Approach
In March 2006, the Mental Health Transformation Project (MHTP) convened a Prevention Advisory Group (PAG) to engage a wide array of partners. The PAG consists of more than 80 professionals and consumers with a wide range of expertise and a shared commitment to transforming the state's mental health service system. In their discussions, PAG members and partners have come to a common understanding on many key issues of mental health. They include:
- Mental health is more than the absence of illness; it includes the ability to cope with life's stresses, work productively, and have fulfilling relationships
- Mental health promotion and mental illness prevention are possible. Promotion, prevention, and early intervention efforts can reduce the devastating impacts of mental illness on individuals and society, including financial/economic impacts.
- Promotion and prevention efforts need to consider age-specific developmental needs in order to effectively address mental health needs of the population across the life span
- Priority should be given to promotion, prevention, and early intervention strategies that are known to be effective, and there should be support for research and information sharing to develop and disseminate new effective strategies.
- In order to have a comprehensive, integrated and effective mental illness prevention system, mechanisms need to be developed to institutionalize coordination, communication, and the development of shared outcomes.
14 Cross-Cutting Themes
The December 2007 State Board of Health report Mental Health–A Public Health Approach:
Developing a Prevention-Oriented Mental Health System in Washington State
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771KB] provided a catalyst for the
PAG in its inception, facilitating understanding on the key issues. The final report takes the effort to the
next level, beginning to articulate a wide-ranging and integrated prevention-oriented approach to mental health.
The report describes 14 cross-cutting themes for policies and practices that emerged as common to all of the age-specific groups it looked at.
Community Discussions and a Prevention Summit
Beginning in January 2008, the Mental Health Transformation Project (MHTP) began to engage communities and key partners in Community Engagement Meetings in further discussion of the 14 cross-cutting themes. The suggestions and strategies gathered were used to form an addendum to the State Board of Health report and provided the basis for a Prevention Summit on May 13, 2008.
Results from the summit will help guide the state toward a system that promotes mental health, intervenes early, and addresses the devastating impacts of mental illness. Those results are currently being analyzed and compiled. In the coming weeks, we will be issuing both a report and an action plan for next steps.
