Connecting the Dots: No Mental Health without Public Mental Health
A research report released in Ontario last summer entitled Connecting the Dots indicated that local public health units are doing a substantial amount of mental health promotion for children and youth without having a specific mandate to do so. In Ontario, illness prevention and health promotion are at the heart of public health, yet the role of public health in the mental health of Ontarians has not been well defined. For instance, the Ontario Public Health Standards, which guides the work of public health units, lacks an explicit mandate to address mental health.