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Abstract
This paper proposes an interdisciplinary research framework for developing mental health policy in countries where a multisectoral approach to population mental health is not yet on the policy agenda. The proposed mental health policy research framework contains two structural elements: research on the policy content and policy process dimensions. The content dimension defines mental health policy as being a multisectoral policy encompassing positive mental health for all, the prevention and treatment of mental disorders, and the social and human rights consequences of poor mental health. The process dimension is based on the cyclical model of policy processes as described by Kingdon’s theory of agenda-setting and Rochefort’s analysis of the factors which affect mental health policy-making. The framework presents an innovative approach to researching mental health policy, bringing a more interdisciplinary focus and an explicit emphasis on policy-making.
Notes
1 For the newest conclusions on the necessity of broadening mental health policy, see EU Joint Action on Mental Health & Well-being, Citation2015. http://www.mentalhealthandwellbeing.eu/publications.
2 As positive mental health and mental disorders constitute two separate continua, today it is possible to discuss the promotion of the mental health of people with mental disorders (Solin, Citation2011, pp. 19–20), which is a strong instrument of their treatment.
4 Some Rochefort's factors could not be included into the proposed scheme. Two factors were left out: community and organizational dysfunction and intellectual and philosophical developments. The named factors are too broad and difficult to operationalize, and do not fit well with Kingdon’s theory.