Investing in mental health across sectors and communities

This article is part of a special series for European Public Health Week, highlighting how JA PreventNCD contributes to each of this year’s daily themes and supports stronger prevention across Europe.

European Public Health Week continues today with the theme “Mental health at the crossroads: investing across public health, primary care, and communities.” The theme highlights one of the most important challenges in public health: mental health cannot be addressed by healthcare services alone.

Mental health is shaped by the conditions in which people live, learn, work, rest and participate in society. It is influenced by schools, workplaces, housing, income security, social protection, community relationships, digital environments, stigma, discrimination, sleep and access to timely support. Primary care and mental health services are essential, but prevention also depends on the wider systems and policies that shape everyday life.

Earlier this week, JA PreventNCD explored Health in All Policies as a way to align decisions across society with public health. Today’s theme brings that idea into sharper focus. Mental health is one area where cross-sector action is especially important, because many of the factors that protect or harm mental well-being sit outside the healthcare system.

A Mental Health in All Policies approach starts from a simple idea: decisions made in many sectors can affect mental health, whether directly or indirectly. Education policies can influence children’s sense of belonging, safety and future opportunities. Employment policies can affect stress, security and work-life balance. Housing, transport and urban planning can shape social connection, exposure to noise, access to green spaces and feelings of safety. Social protection policies can reduce insecurity and help prevent some of the pressures that contribute to poor mental health.

For example, education policies that strengthen social and emotional learning, employment policies that address psychosocial work environments, or urban planning decisions that improve access to green space can all contribute to better mental health outcomes at population level.

This does not mean that every sector becomes responsible for delivering mental health services. Rather, it means recognising that different sectors have a role in creating the conditions that support mental well-being and prevent harm.

Mental Health in All Policies is therefore not about adding new responsibilities to every sector, but about improving how existing decisions are made by recognising their impact on mental well-being.

For public health, this is an important shift. It moves the focus from responding only when problems have already developed, towards identifying where prevention can happen earlier, closer to people’s everyday lives and across the systems that influence health and well-being.

As part of JA PreventNCD, partners are working to develop more effective ways to implement Mental Health in All Policies. This work aims to strengthen the integration of mental health and health equity perspectives into policymaking, while also supporting practical approaches that can be used by policymakers and public health professionals.

While awareness of the importance of mental health across sectors is high, implementation remains more limited. Many policymakers recognise its importance, but lack practical tools, governance structures and clear processes to systematically take mental health into account in decision-making.

The work includes several connected areas.

First, partners are mapping the roles of different sectors in mental health promotion and examining the current situation in participating countries. This includes situation analysis questionnaires, reviews of reports, interviews with key policy stakeholders and national thematic workshops. The aim is to better understand how mental health promotion is currently addressed, where responsibilities sit, and what opportunities exist for stronger cross-sector action.

Second, the work includes the development and piloting of a tool for evaluating mental health promotion interventions. The tool will build on assessment criteria for evidence-based public health interventions being developed in Slovenia and will be adapted to apply to a wider range of mental health approaches. It is intended to help policymakers identify good practices and make more informed decisions about which interventions can support mental health and well-being. In practice, this can support decision-makers in selecting, adapting and scaling interventions, and in strengthening the use of evidence in policy processes. The tool will be piloted in Iceland, Finland and Slovenia.

Third, partners are exploring how to address stigma related to mental health problems. Stigma can prevent people from seeking help, limit participation in society and influence how mental health is understood in policy and practice. Mapping stigma and identifying effective ways to address it at policy level is therefore an important part of building more supportive and inclusive societies.

Finally, the work also includes a situational analysis on sleep strategies and guidelines. Sleep is increasingly recognised as a key pillar of health and is closely connected to stress regulation, mental health, cardiovascular and metabolic health, and everyday well-being. JA PreventNCD partners have recently highlighted sleep as an important public health priority in the prevention of non-communicable diseases. Within the Mental Health in All Policies work, partners are also reviewing sleep strategies, cross-sector cooperation, and relevant stakeholder and rightsholder landscapes to support stronger policy approaches in this area.

The challenge is not only to recognise that many sectors influence mental health. The challenge is to make that understanding practical.

Mental Health in All Policies requires tools, evidence, cooperation and governance structures that help policymakers consider mental health impacts when decisions are being made. This can include mechanisms such as cross-sector coordination, integrating mental health considerations into existing policy processes, and strengthening accountability for population well-being outcomes. It also requires better ways to identify what works, what can be adapted to different national or local contexts, and how good practices can be shared across countries.

This is where JA PreventNCD can make an important contribution. By mapping current approaches, developing practical tools, exploring stigma, and reviewing sleep strategies, the project is helping to build knowledge that can support more effective mental health promotion across Europe.

The work also connects closely with the broader aims of JA PreventNCD. Preventing non-communicable diseases means addressing the conditions that shape health across the life course. Mental health is part of this picture, both as an important health outcome in its own right and as a factor closely linked to physical health, social participation and quality of life.

Today’s European Public Health Week theme places mental health at the crossroads of public health, primary care and communities. This reflects the reality that no single sector can address mental health alone.

Public health can help identify population-level risks and protective factors, support prevention strategies and promote equity. Primary care can provide early support, continuity and connection to services. Communities can strengthen belonging, participation and everyday support. Policymakers can create the conditions that make mental health promotion possible across education, employment, housing, social protection, urban planning and other sectors.

Investing in mental health therefore means investing in more than services. It means investing in the wider conditions that allow people and communities to thrive.

Moving forward, the priority is not only to understand the determinants of mental health, but to embed this understanding into decision-making processes across sectors. This requires practical tools, clear roles and sustained cross-sector collaboration.

As European Public Health Week continues, the theme is a timely reminder that mental health promotion must be part of broader prevention efforts. Through its work on Mental Health in All Policies, JA PreventNCD is helping to explore how mental health can be better integrated into policymaking, how effective interventions can be identified, and how countries can work across sectors to support well-being.