Assessing the degree of mental health literacy in a population depends on how mental health literacy is defined. The existing definition of mental health literacy as “knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders which aid their recognition, management or prevention” Footnote 146 does not specify which knowledge and beliefs represent good mental health literacy. There is a tendency among professionals to assume the mental health literacy of the public increases as it aligns with professional thinking Footnote 147 and an expectation that this will result in stigma reduction, and improvements in help seeking and treatment outcomes. Footnote 148 However, there are many reasons for caution about adopting this approach, including its inability to encompass the complex and evolutionary character of health literacy Footnote 149 , its limited explanatory power for the broader social and situational determinants of mental health Footnote 150 and its emphasis on medical perspectives, which may be associated with disempowerment, pessimism, and increased stigma. Footnote 151
Mental health literacy could be more broadly defined as the range of cognitive and social skills and capacities that support mental heath promotion. This includes the capacity to act on social as well as individual determinants of mental health and mental illness. Footnote 152 An expanded definition for mental health literacy could be the basis for a comprehensive model for enhancing mental health literacy. Such a model could accommodate a diversity of attitudes and beliefs about mental health and mental disorders, insofar as these represent valid but divergent points of view. It could also accommodate the development of a broad range of strategies to enhance personal skills and capacities for informed choice, and critical analysis and collective empowerment for action on the social and environmental determinants of mental health. It would support social as well as individual benefits, building social capital, and promoting social and economic development. Footnote 153 Ultimately, it is expected to result in improved individual and population mental health outcomes. Footnote 154
Return to note 146 Jorm, 1997b
Return to note 147 Heginbotham, 1998; Link et al, 1999; Read and Law, 1999 Prior et al, 2003; Jorm et al, 2006a; 2006b
Return to note 148 Jorm, 2006a
Return to note 149 Nutbeam, 2000
Return to note 150 Summerfield, 2001
Return to note 151 Read and Law, 1999; Martin et al, 2000; Walker and Read, 2002;Mann and Himelein, 2004; Lauber et al 2004; Phelan et al, 2006
Return to note 152 WHO, 2001; Summerfield, 2001; Kickbush, 2002; WHO, 2004
Return to note 153 Kickbusch, 2002
Return to note 154 Nutbeam, 2000