The association between Act-Belong-Commit indicators and problem drinking among older Irish adults: Findings from a prospective analysis of the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA)

Impact on stakeholders of a cultural adaptation of a social and emotional well-being intervention in an Aboriginal community

PURPOSE

Australian Indigenous people conceptualise health broadly as situated within a social and emotional well-being (SEWB) framework. A consultation process with an Aboriginal community revealed that the fundamental principles of the population wide, community-based Act-Belong-Commit mental health promotion Campaign were consistent with Aboriginal people's understanding of SEWB and that a cultural adaptation of the Campaign would be welcomed in the community. The purpose of this paper is to present key stakeholders' feedback on the Campaign adaptation.

METHODOLOGY

Two years after implementation of the Campaign, individual in-depth interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of n = 18 Indigenous and non-Indigenous stakeholders to identify ongoing issues in the community and assess their reactions to the Campaign implementation and perceptions of the effects of the Campaign on the community.

RESULTS

The two primary factors influencing stakeholder acceptance of the Campaign in the community were (i) the nature of the consultation process that clearly acknowledged that it was for the community to decide whether or not to adopt the Campaign and (ii) the ability of the Aboriginal Project Manager to gain the trust of the community, bring stakeholders together and illustrate the Act-Belong-Commit principles in her actions in the community. Stakeholders reported observing social and emotional well-being benefits for individuals, their families and the whole community.

CONCLUSION

Overall, the results suggest that the Act-Belong-Commit mental health promotion Campaign can be successfully culturally adapted as a community-based, social and emotional well-being Campaign in Aboriginal and Torres Strait communities. SO WHAT?: The Act-Belong-Commit cultural adaptation in Roebourne provides an evidence-based best practice model for the development of culturally appropriate mental health promotion campaigns in Indigenous communities around Australia.

Impact of the Act-Belong-Commit campaign on mental health help-seeking behaviour

ISSUE ADDRESSED

Despite the high prevalence of mental ill-health amongst Australians, many people do not seek help for their mental ill-health. A delay in help-seeking is associated with poorer outcomes. This study investigated the extent to which the Act-Belong-Commit mental health promotion campaign prompted people to seek information or professional help for mental ill-health.

METHODS

A sample of 1200 respondents took part in two state-wide surveys (n = 600 each). Participants aware of the Act-Belong-Commit campaign were asked questions related to information-seeking and help-seeking behaviours because of the campaign.

RESULTS

Of those aware of the campaign, 8% stated that the campaign prompted them to seek information and 4% stated that the campaign prompted them to seek help for a mental health problem. Those with a mental illness experience (MIE) were significantly more likely than those without to report that the campaign prompted them to look for information (12% vs 6%) and seek help for a mental health problem (9.5% vs 1.2%). Extrapolating these results to the total adult population of Western Australia indicated that around 120 000 adults had sought mental health information, and around 60 000 had sought help as a result of the campaign.

CONCLUSIONS

The campaign not only initiated the seeking of information or professional help for a mental health problem amongst those with no prior thoughts of such, but also prompted those who were already thinking about seeking information or getting help to act sooner than they otherwise would. SO WHAT?: Although previous research suggests that mental health literacy interventions have limited impact on help-seeking, the presented data show that the Act-Belong-Commit approach can have a significant impact on help-seeking, particularly amongst those with a MIE, which could yield substantial social and economic return on investment benefits if intensified at both the media and community grass roots levels.

Physical multimorbidity and wish to die among adults aged ≥65 years: A cross-sectional analysis of the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing

BACKGROUND

Physical multimorbidity (i.e., ≥2 chronic conditions) may induce feelings of wish to die (WTD), but there is limited literature on this topic, while the mediators in this association are largely unknown. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate this association and its mediators among older Irish adults.

METHODS

Cross-sectional, nationally representative data from Wave 1 of the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing 2009-2011 were analyzed. Information on self-reported lifetime diagnosis of 14 chronic physical conditions were obtained. WTD was defined as answering affirmatively to the question "In the last month, have you felt that you would rather be dead?" Multivariable logistic regression and mediation analyses were conducted.

RESULTS

Data on 2941 adults aged ≥65 years [mean (SD) age 73.2 (5.2) years; 45.0 % males] were analyzed. Physical multimorbidity was associated with 3.39 (95%CI 1.58, 7.28) times higher odds for WTD. This association was largely explained by pain (% mediated 28.1 %), followed by depression (19.4 %), sleep problems (18.4 %), perceived stress (13.0 %), loneliness (10.4 %), anxiety (8.1 %), and disability (7.2 %).

CONCLUSIONS

Multimorbidity was associated with increased odds for WTD among Irish older adults. Addressing the identified mediators may contribute to reducing feelings of WTD among older adults with multimorbidity.

Twenty-One Reasons for Implementing the Act-Belong-Commit-'ABCs of Mental Health' Campaign

While there has been increased attention worldwide on mental health promotion over the past two decades, what is lacking in many countries around the globe is practical knowledge of what constitutes a population-wide mental health promotion campaign, and how such a campaign can be implemented. This paper provides such knowledge based on the development, implementation and evaluation of the Act-Belong-Commit campaign, the world's first comprehensive population-wide public mental health promotion campaign which was launched in 2008 in Western Australia. Given the learnings from the full-scale implementation and evaluation of the campaign in Western Australia and its expansion nationally and internationally, along with the continuing and expanding evidence base for the campaign constructs, we crystallise 21 reasons why jurisdictions who wish to achieve the goals of the WHO and adopt the recommendations of the European framework on mental health and wellbeing should consider adopting or adapting Act-Belong-Commit when considering implementing a public mental health promotion campaign.

Associations Between Multiple Leisure Activities, Mental Health and Substance Use Among Adolescents in Denmark: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Previous research has suggested that leisure activity may benefit mental health and protect against substance use among adolescents, but more research is needed to asses associations with a wide range of outcomes. The aim of this study was to assess associations between multiple leisure activities and (1) mental health outcomes and (2) substance use outcomes in a sample of Danish adolescents.

Methods: Using data from the Danish part of the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) collected in 2019, nation-wide cross-sectional data from 2,488 participants aged 15 or 16 in Denmark were analyzed to assess associations between number of leisure activity types and outcomes pertaining to mental health and substance use.

Results: Our results show that engaging in multiple activity types at least once a week—as compared to one single type of activity—is associated with increased odds for high mental well-being, and reduced odds for mental health problems. Engaging in multiple activity types is also associated with reduced odds for overall substance use and for using substances as a coping method. Among those using substances, engaging in multiple activity types is associated with reduced odds of above average substance use.

Conclusion: Increasing opportunities for adolescents to engage in leisure activities is suggested to be useful in enhancing mental health and preventing substance use and promoting mental health. Promoting and increasing access to leisure activities among adolescents could be a promising avenue for policy and practice.

Implementing Mental Health Promotion Initiatives-Process Evaluation of the ABCs of Mental Health in Denmark

Treatment and prevention alone are unlikely to make a significant difference in reducing the burden of poor mental health and mental illness. Therefore, mental health promotion (MHP) initiatives are advocated. In 2014, the ABCs of mental health (ABCs) partnership was established in Denmark; in the partnership, partner organisations, e.g., municipalities and NGOs, use a research-based framework for MHP, the ABC-framework, to develop and implement MHP initiatives. This paper has two aims: (1) to outline the overall characteristics of these MHP initiatives; and (2) to explore local coordinator and stakeholder perceptions of the implementation processes and the impact of the MHP initiatives. Questionnaire surveys, individual interviews and group interviews were conducted during 2017-2020. The MHP initiatives were grouped according to three strategies: building MHP capacity, campaign activities to promote mental health awareness and knowledge and establishing and promoting opportunities to engage in mentally healthy activities. The ABC-framework was positively received and viewed as providing relevant knowledge for working with MHP as well as fostering intersectoral and interprofessional collaborations. However, using a bottom-up approach to develop and implement MHP initiatives can be time-consuming and resource demanding, and it requires a deliberate balancing of local adaptability and concrete guidance when engaging stakeholders and implementers. Overall, using the ABC-framework to develop and implement MHP initiatives holds great promise for advancing and promoting MHP practice.

Effects of voluntary memberships and volunteering on alcohol and tobacco use across the life course: Findings from the German Socio-Economic Panel

BACKGROUND

It is unclear whether specific components of individual social capital promote or protect against substance use and whether such effects vary across the life course. In this study, we investigated the effects of voluntary memberships and volunteering on alcohol and tobacco consumption in age comparison.

METHODS

Preregistration is accessible at https://osf.io/qhkrn/. We used data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (1984-2015), where alcohol consumption was assessed in 2006, 2008, and 2010 and smoking was assessed at least biennially since 1998. We divided participants into three age groups (14-29, 40-50, and 65-75 years of age at baseline). To disentangle intraindividual change over time and interindividual differences (potential selection effects), we employed multilevel analysis.

RESULTS

At the within level, voluntary memberships at one occasion predicted higher alcohol consumption a year later in middle-aged and older adults, but memberships had no significant longitudinal effects on smoking. Several positive effects of volunteering on alcohol and tobacco use one year later were found in males. No significant differences in the longitudinal effects between age groups or between nonpolitical and political volunteering emerged. At the between level, voluntary memberships and volunteering were usually associated with more alcohol consumption at low and moderate levels but with less smoking.

DISCUSSION

Over time, voluntary memberships and volunteering in Germany appear to promote, rather than to protect against, alcohol and tobacco use. On average, more engaged individuals drink more (at moderate levels) and smoke less, which may be due to selection effects.

Physical Activity and the Development of Substance Use Disorders: Current Knowledge and Future Directions

Physical activity and exercise are positive health behaviors that have been shown to reduce the risk of physical and psychological diseases. There is a strong rationale that physical activity could be a protective factor against the development of substance use disorders (SUDs), which include some of the most common mental health conditions such as tobacco and alcohol use disorder. This review examined the epidemiological literature to describe the associations of physical activity and substance use across the lifespan. The findings indicated that physical activity is positively associated with current and future alcohol use but negatively associated with tobacco and other drug use, with the strongest support originating from adolescent and young adult samples. Considerably less data exist on physical activity and other drug use in later life. Limitations in previous studies, such as the indeterminate measurement of physical activity and absence of clinical substance use disorder endpoints, should be addressed in future investigations to provide clarity regarding the strength and directions of these relationships among different substances and populations.