The making, unmaking and remaking of primary prevention

Abstract

Interest in primary prevention in mental health has varied depending on the socio-economic, cultural and political climate. True primary prevention looks at the institutional and social structure that fosters growth, promotes adequate development, and optimises mastery as well as identifying and assisting those at high risk. Current ideological forces either ignore or add confusion to that highly complex area. The history of the changes in the paediatric hospitalisation of young children over the last three decades, which originated in the United Kingdom and has covered the globe, serves as a model for looking at what primary prevention can do and its significance for the field of mental health.