Engage and empower

Me whakawhanaunga, me whakamana

Best practice health promotion

Mental health promotion supports people to have more awareness of and control over what helps them feel good and function well. Raising emotional and wellbeing literacy can reduce worries or concerns over troubling experiences and emotions, bringing people’s natural coping mechanisms to the fore, improve quality of life, raise awareness of issues early and reduce the need for service-level care.

He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata What is the most important thing? It is people, it is people, it is people
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He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata
Top tip
While most people won’t need to access specialist mental health services after an event, everybody can benefit from support to build knowledge and skills to take charge of their own mental health and wellbeing.

Unpacking the jargon

Unpacking the jargon

Mental health promotion
Mental health promotion is “the process of enhancing the capacity of individuals and communities to take control of their lives and improve their mental health while showing respect for culture, equity, social justice and personal dignity” (Joubert & Raeburn, 1998, p19).
Social marketing
Social marketing is an approach used to develop activities aimed at changing or maintaining people's behaviour for the benefit of individuals and society as a whole.

All Right? workstreams

Some of the ways we’ve reached people from across the community. Each campaign is developed from a research base, and evaluated to ensure it's hitting the mark!
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All Right? workstreams

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Some of the ways we’ve reached people from across the community. Each campaign is developed from a research base, and evaluated to ensure it's hitting the mark!
Mass media campaigns

All Right’s very first campaign was directly informed by market research which found Cantabrians were feeling a wide range of emotions - from frustration, anger and grief to pride in how they'd coped. Many were also feeling guilty that other people had been more badly affected than themselves.

The campaign used a variety of tools to reassure people that others were feeling the same way - and most importantly, that it was all right to feel a variety of emotions.

All Right? continues to produce 'mass media' or 'above the line' campaigns and resources informed by research into how Cantabrians are doing.

All Right? Parenting

All Right? research has repeatedly shown that many Canterbury parents feel tired and isolated, find it difficult to live up to the expectations they place upon themselves, and in many cases, downplay, or don’t seem to be noticing, the great job they’re doing.

These findings led to the creation of All Right? Parenting. This campaign promoted the message that ‘Real families aren’t picture perfect. They're messy, playful, and so much better!’. A web portal containing information, printable parenting guides and a list of local parenting courses was created to support the campaign.

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities

All Right? has produced tools and resources to support Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities, including translating Five Ways to Wellbeing into eight different languages, and producing a poster series of what supports the wellbeing of people from different cultural backgrounds.

An advisory group from the CALD community worked with All Right? to ensure these resources met the needs of these communities .

Te Waioratanga

The Te Waioratanga workstream has used a variety of approaches to foster greater appreciation of Māori concepts of health and wellbeing. This has included implementing specific campaigns promoting kapa haka and te reo as central tenets of wellbeing, and the creation of the Hikitia te Hā series of mindfulness practice videos.

Sparklers

Sparklers was developed in response to requests from schools for more support to meet the wellbeing needs of Canterbury students post-quake. It consists of over 50 activities that teachers and other practitioners can use to help year 1-8 students feel calmer, happier, and more ready to learn.

Pacific

Our Pacific stream has supported Pacific people's wellbeing through a range of campaigns, events, and resources, including;

  • Out of the Heart (recognising women as the heartbeat of the family)
  • Leadership Thru Me (an event showcasing the creative talents of the Pacific Community, including poetry, music, dance and fashion)
  • Pacifically Speaking card sets - a set of cards describing a range of activities for families to do together, and conversation starters.
Workplaces

In response to research with Canterbury workplaces, All Right? has developed a workplace wellbeing hub on our website.

The hub shares articles, tips, and resources, and profiles case studies of Canterbury workplaces supporting their employees' wellbeing.

Social media

All Right? has built a large social media following on Facebook, and continues to be very active on this platform.

According to an evaluation of the All Right? social media approach the majority of survey respondents agreed the Facebook page was helpful (98%), gave people ideas of things they can do to help themselves (96%), and made people think about their wellbeing (93%).

Disaster support

All Right? received a Lotteries Grant to support people in Kaikōura and Hurunui to recover and adapt from the earthquakes and other stressors.

All Right? worked alongside the local communities in these regions on a range of initiatives designed to make people more aware of their wellbeing and ways to improve it.

One example is Kaikōura Views, which shared where local people were at with their recovery.

Guiding documents

Guiding documents

Here are some documents that you could find useful for engaging and empowering the community around you.
The Perth Charter

The Perth Charter specifically identifies principles and actions that can influence the promotion of mental health and wellbeing.

The Ottawa Charter

The Ottawa Charter for health promotion is the most widely used health promotion framework. It was developed in 1986 and is notable for its focus on a wide range of determinants of health.

Framework for psychosocial support in emergencies

Planning, coordinating and delivering psychosocial interventions and mental health treatments in an emergency.

Social determinants of mental health

Mental health and many common mental disorders are shaped to a great extent by the social, economic, and physical environments in which people live. Social inequalities are associated with an increased risk of poor mental health, and environmental, structural, and local interventions are required to support mental health across a wide population.

Te Whare Tapa Wha

Māori health expert Professor Sir Mason Durie developed the whare tapa whā model of health in 1982. This encapsulates a Māori view of health and wellness and has four dimensions: taha wairua (spiritual health), taha hinengaro (mental health), taha tinana (physical health) and taha whānau (family health). Different parts of a wharenui (meeting house) represent each of these dimensions.

Te Pae Māhutonga

Te Pae Māhutonga is a model developed by Professor Sir Mason Durie which brings together the significant components of health promotion, as they apply to Māori health as well as to other New Zealanders. The four central stars can be used to represent the four key tasks of health promotion and reflect particular goals: Mauriora, Waiora, Toiora, Te Oranga. The two pointers are Ngā Manukura and Te Mana Whakahaere and represent two pre-requisites for effectiveness, namely leadership and autonomy.

TUHA-NZ

TUHA-NZ, A Treaty Understanding of Hauora in Aotearoa-New Zealand, aims to help people and organisations working in health promotion to further understand and apply te Tiriti in their everyday work. It outlines why te Tiriti is paramount in health promotion and how to undertake effective Treaty-based practice .

Fonofale

The Fonofale model was created by Fuimaono Karl Pulotu Endemann as a Pacific Island model of health for use in the New Zealand context. The Fonofale model incorporates the metaphor of a Samoan house with the foundation, three posts and roof encapsulated in a circle to promote the philosophy of holism and continuity.

WHO Promoting Mental Health

This report describes the concept of mental health and its promotion. It positions mental health promotion within the broader context of health promotion and public health.

Five Ways to Wellbeing

Used widely by health promoters, Five Ways to Wellbeing is an evidence based framework developed by the New Economics Foundation, highlighting five actions that when built into our daily life can support people’s wellbeing.

Engage and Empower

Action/Reflection Cycle

Research

It's important to get a sense of where people are at, and how they are doing. Whatever your budget, asking questions and seeking to understand is the perfect place to start (and continue!).

Action

Actions could come in many different forms (messaging, above the line campaigns, events, workshops and above the line campaigns, events, and tangible resources).

Be bold and take risks!

Observation and Feedback

Observe how your actions are resonating with their intended audience, and be open to feedback from the public, your champions and stakeholders. Digital platforms (i.e. website and social media) can be useful in gathering feedback and ideas from the public.

Reflection

What worked, what didn't? Within your team, it's important to foster an environment where it's safe to disagree. Schedule regular reflection and debriefs into the project plan.

Adjustments

Making changes based on the public's feedback and ideas helps to build positive engagement and ownership.