social policies and mental health
TRANSCRIPT
Social policies andmental health
CRISP policy forumGlasgow 12.12.2017
Kristian Wahlbeck
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovationprogramme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 690954
NIH/NIDA: A child’s first eight years are critical for substance abuse prevention
4.10.2017
“There is strong evidence that a stable home environment, adequate nutrition, physical and cognitive stimulation, and supportive parenting can lead to good developmental outcomes.”
• Going upstream: Structuraldeterminants of mental health
PovertyIncome inequalityGender inequalityWar and conflictsSocial exclusion
22.11.2017
Most of the mental health determinantsare outside the health sector
-families at struggle-economic hardship-low education-social exclusion-vulnerabilities
Launch of School of Public Health / Wahlbeck
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25.11.2016 Policies in economic crises
Social determinantsof mental health
Policyaction
Mental Health in AllPolicies
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Mental Health in All Policies (MHiAP)
Health in All Policies is an approach to public policies
across sectors that systematically takes into account the
health implications of decisions, seeks synergies, and
avoids harmful health impacts in order to improve
population health and health equity.
It provides a framework for regulation and practical
tools that combine health, social and equity goals with
economic development, and manage conflicts of
interest transparently.
25.11.2016 Policies in economic crises9
www.mentalhealthandwellbeing.eu
25.11.2016 Policies in economic crises10
Policy level interventions
Parenting supportAccess to child day careYouth guaranteeActive employment policiesPoverty alleviationDebt policies
Social welfare mitigates the effectsof macro-economic crises
• Economic downturns result in smaller deteriorations in the mental health
of the population in countries with strong safety nets
• In the Nordic countries, health inequalities remained stable and suicide
rates diminished during financial and economic crises in (Finland and
Sweden 1990-93) and Iceland (2008-11)
Uutela 2010, Wahlbeck 2012, Asgeirsdottir 2014
• EU data indicate that unemployment does not increase suicide if per
capita spending on welfare programmes is above approx 200 €/year
Stuckler 2009
25.11.2016 Policies in economic crises12
Intergenerationaltransmission ofmental healthproblems isprevented byparenting support
Risk of mental disorders in the offspring of parents with mental disorders is reduced by 40% by preventive interventions
Siegenthaler et al. JAACAP 2012
Universal access to good quality childday care
Child day care centers were set up in Nordic countries to enable mothers to
access labour market. Purpose has since shifted toward supporting child
development and reducing social inequalities.
In times of economic and financial stress of families is reflected in parenting
style and mental health of children. Retaining right to child day care in spite of
parental unemployment is an important protective factor to reduce
transgenerational transmission.
Solantaus 2004
25.11.2016 Policies in economic crises14
Income-to-needs ratio = poverty line = 1Internalizingproblems
Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa), N=75296 (Zachrisson & Dearing, 2014)