Investing in mental health promotion across the life course

Schools and workplaces are increasingly viewed as a key influence on people’s mental health. However, we know very little about how these organisations invest in mental health promotion and what further support they may need. 

This project will investigate this issue, through in-depth interviews and focus groups with staff at schools and workplaces. As part of these discussions, we will ask about what resources, such as people, money, information and space, are needed and how investment decisions were made. We will study documents, such as business cases, reports, and minutes to understand more. We will use specialist techniques to study attitudes to mental health promotion and how evidence is used in investment decisions. 

This research will provide insights for policy makers about how to support, regulate and incentivise the provision of mental health promotion. And it will help researchers generate useful evidence for these organisations on what works.