《Positive Psychology and Public Health 》.pdf

Chapter 7 Positive Psychology and Public Health ð ð Dora Guððrún Guððmundsdóttir Public health has been defined as “The science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organised efforts of society.” (Acheson, 1988). Within the field of public health, health promotion is an area which focuses more on health than diseases. The ideology of mental health pro- motion is in many ways comparable to the one of positive psychology. Furthermore the development of health promotion, particularly mental health promotion within the field of public health, has a lot in common with the development of positive psychology. The aim of this chapter is to highlight the similarities between the ide- ology of mental health promotion and positive psychology, which both emphasize the positive aspects of health and human beings. A special focus will be on positive mental health and how it can be measured. At the end of the chapter a reflection will be made on how the field of mental health promotion and positive psychology can support each other and lead to social change. In retrospect, one can say that the consequences of World War II play an impor- tant, although different, role for both public health and positive psychology. After the war, the need for a global community highlighting human rights was strong and in the area of public health, the World Health Organisation (WHO) was founded to meet that need in 1948. The constitution of WHO contained a new definition of health, with a strong emphasis on positive health: Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (WHO, 1948). It is interesting to consider the fact that more than a half century ago health was defined in this way. It is noteworthy that this definition includes the clear statement that health is not merely the absence of di