MHFAThe RSPH Perspective

Robin Philipp

Consultant Occupational & Public Health Physician

The RSPH: 1 October 2008

• RIPH (1886) - RSH (1876)• Public Health: ‘the science and art of

protecting and improving the health of communities through education, promotion of healthy lifestyles, and research for disease and injury prevention”

• Independent & multi-disciplinary, 7,000 associates, licentiates, members & fellows

• Royal Charter, Patronage HM the Queen

Spectrum of Member Interests• Health protection• Environmental health• Health professions – medicine, dentistry, nursing, PAMs• Dentistry• Food hygiene• Nutrition & dietetics• Health promotion – Well-being Practitioners, Arts & Health • Health & safety• Veterinary science• Engineering• Architecture• Health care management• Social care

The RSPH Approach

• Vision, Voice, Practice• Advocacy, Mediation, Empowerment• Policy Development• Education & Training Services• Scientific Research• Information Dissemination• Certification of Products, Training Centres

& Processes

RSPH Links

• Government Depts• Public Sector Organisations• Other Charities• Media• Commercial Companies• Consumer Bodies• Partner University Network (policy, collaborative

research bids & dissertation support)

RSPH International Collaboration

• American Public Health Association

• European Public Health Association

• World Federation of Public Health Agencies

• World Health Organisation

• International Union for Health Promotion & Education

• The People’s University

RSPH Present Priorities

• Child and Adolescent Health (& Social Justice)

• Food & Nutrition• Immunisation and Vaccination• Infection Control• Sexual Health• Sustainable Development including needs

associated with Mental Health & Emotional Well-being

RSPH-NIMHE-MHFA

• Public Health: 1D, 2D, 3D Prevention

• WHO defn. ‘Health is a state of complete physical, mental, psychological, social & spiritual well-being & not merely the absence of disease or infirmity

From Mental Illness to Well-being

• Mental illness: a diagnosable illness that significantly interferes with and individual’s cognitive, emotional or social abilities, e.g. depression, anxiety, schizophrenia’ [www.healthscotland.com]

• Mental well-being: ‘a broad term encompassing areas such as life satisfaction, optimism, self-esteem, mastery & feeling in control, having a purpose in life, and a sense of belonging & support [www.healthscotland.com]

• Health Promotion: The process of enabling people to increase control over & thereby improve their health’ (Nuffield Trust 1999)

The Nuffield Nudge

• Humanities in Medicine: Beyond the Millennium: (1999). Philipp, R., Baum, M., Mawson, A., Calman Sir K. Report Series No.10: 164pp.

• Arts, Health & Well-Being: (2002). Philipp, R., Baum, M., Macnaughton, J., Calman Sir K. 114pp.

• CAHHM, Medical Humanities, RCP books,• Cultural Medicine (DoH + Arts Council)

A Nudge For The Literary Arts

• Survivors’ Poetry – in spite of not because

• Lapidus

• £1.26 millions Annual Prescribing Cost Savings SSRI’s @ 2001 costings

• News Media coverage

The Media Moved

• GPs to be versed in therapy• Try the rhythm method• A poem a day keeps dejection at bay• Let iambics take the measure of your

stress• Rhyme restores reason• Exam blues? An ode could ease your load• From bad to verse

The Italian Red Cross

• “Technology & Communication for a New Humanitarian Intervention”:

• Office of International Health Cooperation & Development: 2007; 232pp.

• www.choleracafe.com

MHFA Training Aims

• Preserve life where a person may be a danger to themselves or others;

• Provide help to prevent the mental health problem developing into a more serious state;

• Promote recovery of good mental health;

• Provide comfort to a person suffering mental illness

Joined Up ThinkingMHFA Training, the RSPH &

1D, 2D, & 3D Prevention• Mental health & lifestyle are linked

• Self-esteem, personal confidence & morale influence lifestyle & are influenced by it

• Epictetus: 100 AD

• Smoking, diet, weight & nutrition, alcohol, drugs, exercise (NHS LifeCheck)

• Health & Emotional Literacy (20% UK - )

Definitions of Well-Being

• Ataraxia – “inner peace”

• Eudaimonia – “a feeling that reflects a combination of well-being, happiness, contentment, pleasure & satisfaction & of living the best life possible”

• RCP 2005 – “a holistic notion of achieving a state of health, comfort & happiness”

Who Is Doing What ?

• The Nuffield Trust: arts & humanities *• FPH Position Statements: mental health &

smoking, & with work• NICE – evidence bases for public health

interventions• RCGP & RCPsych public information leaflets• Websites: Livinglifetothefull; Beatingtheblues• NHS Choices (NHS Direct) - LifeStyleCheck • BMA-AMA-CMA [with RSPH, NIMHE, NHS Plus,

NCAS & Postgrad. Deaneries?]

The RSPH & NIMHENeeds For Sustainable

Development• Values: “a set of principles which are consistent

& inform & direct our thought, action & activities”• Fiscal Capital: “accumulated wealth as used

esp. in further production”• Human Capital: social, cultural,

intellectual, emotional, creative, aesthetic, spiritual, moral

• UK Creative Industries: worth £60 billion / year (British Council)

RSPH Support For Human Capital:Training Courses

• Working together with national learning & support networks designed to disseminate effective practice

• Signposting professionals to toolkits & materials developed by other organisations

• Filling gaps with evidence-based practical tools to help public health practitioners

The RSPH: Establishing Competencies, Benchmarking &

Compliance• 7 levels of Generic Outcomes of

Understanding

• National Qualifications Framework (NQF)

• National Qualifications & Credits Framework (NQCF) [new]

• Public Health National Occupational Standards of the Sector Skills Council

• MHFA Instructors’ Course [ Level 3 ]

The RSPH Portfolio of Qualifications

• 40+ qualifications

• 100,000 students qualify each year

• Accreditation by OfQual (the Govt. Regulator)

Other RSPH Stand Alone Awards of Relevance to MHFAIs

• Health Awareness [Level 1]

• Understanding Health Improvement [Level 2] *

• Recognising & Responding to Substance Misuse [Level 2 – under development]

• Certificate in Health Promotion [Level 2]

Relevance of these Awards to MHFAIs

• First 3 all recognise competency to:

• Identify signs and / or symptoms;

• Assess the immediate risk & what help is required;

• Ensure self-care

The Most Relevant Award

• Understanding Health Improvement

• UK Govt. White Paper: ‘Choosing Health: Making Healthier Choices Easier’

• Identified need for the NHS Health Trainer

• Role – advise, motivate & support individuals

• 1st step towards becoming a fully qualified NHS Health Trainer

Understanding Health ImprovementAward

• Accredited training for workplace ‘Health Champions’ – relevance for PCTs “Health, Work & Well-being Coordinators” – Lord Darzi, Dame Carol Black

• Health promotion role within the workforce:• Losing weight & keeping it off;• Eating more healthily;• Quitting smoking• Drinking wisely• Managing the response to stress & pressure

Interest in Understanding Health Improvement

• Microsoft• British Dental Association• Airbus• Primary care Trusts• Royal Mail• British Army• Carphone warehouse• Marks & Spencer• Cadbury Schweppes• Prison Service• Training Life Coaches & Counsellors

The RSPH Approach :Applying the WHO Healthy Settings

Model• WHO Health Promoting Hospitals

• Healthy Schools

• Prisons

• Airports

• WHO Healthy Cities

• WHO Green Cities: Blue Cities of Europe

• UK Healthcare Commission & PH Stds

Professionalism

• Ensuring one’s own mental health, emotional resilience & coping skills;

• Working together for standards;• Improving what we do & how we go about it;• Towards a common aim & the evidence base;• The public health.• www.rsph.org.uk• www.artsaccessinternational.org• www.lapidus.org.uk

MHFA: Evidence That It Works

• RCT (Kitchener B.A., & Jorm A.F. BMC Psychiatry 2004: Vol.4: 23).

• Workplace: 301 Public Servants_____________________________• Improved knowledge• Less stigmatizing attitudes• Increased confidence in helping others• Increase in amount of actual help• Improved personal mental health

Relevant RSPH Divisions

• Development – Heather Davison

• Qualifications – Wendy Moore

• Accreditation - Anna Zilnyk (with HD)

• MHFAIs: Competency Clusters – CPD – Career development