Protection against mental ill-health should be available to all – even nurses
Prevention is a relatively novel concept in mental health, but its importance should not be overlooked
The maxim that prevention is better than cure is well established and accepted. It has driven public health initiatives such as immunisation and screening. In the early days of public health, it informed initiatives to provide clean water and housing.
Now it has become a discussion point in mental health. Yet it has some inherent challenges. First, the concept of cure is rarely, if ever, voiced in mental health. Instead we are content with terms such as symptom control, self-management and recovery. This represents progress from an era where expectations for people were so low that treatment was considered futile.
Continuum of vulnerability
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