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Abstract
All nurses are expected to promote patients' health and this includes physical and psychological wellbeing. In this article the author argues that we already have much of the knowledge necessary to enhance public mental health and that we need to focus more on the factors that promote a state of positive wellbeing rather than on what makes people ill. Nurses work in a variety of services and are in an ideal position to promote patients' sense of empowerment and resilience by helping them to acknowledge their resources, rather than focusing on their disability or illness.
Keywords
Health promotion, mental health, wellbeing
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Enhancing wellbeing is a key objective of all mental health promotion initiatives and has become an important challenge for many governments. The ultimate prize is a healthier population that improves the country's economic prosperity through enhanced productivity. However, it is now recognised that historical economic measures of wellbeing need to be supplemented by more subjective ones that capture how people think and feel about life (Office for National Statistics 2012). An individual's financial situation may be important in relation to his or her sense of wellbeing, however, Bacon et al (2010) reported that people often perceive non-monetary factors as more significant.
Nurses are expected to take every opportunity to promote patients' health. In relation to mental health promotion, it could be suggested that nurses are less sure about what can be done when compared with interventions that support a person's physical wellbeing. Department of Health (DH 2009, 2011) publications highlight a necessary shifttowards mental health promotion as crucial to the health of the nation. The case for prevention and early intervention to support people's mental health has never been stronger.
Physical and mental health are inextricably linked and one will inevitably affect the other. This is now broadly accepted as an important factor when treating common mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, and exercise regimes and dietary management are incorporated into patients' treatment plans. Mental health promotion involves a diverse range...