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Cambridge Public Health

 
Mother and child play with sensory fidget toy

Research and collaboration to achieve positive mental health outcomes

What we do

At CPH, we aim to raise awareness of the idea that mental health problems can affect anyone, across all life-stages — which means that no single group of researchers or clinicians can improve public mental health single-handedly. Public mental health requires a multidisciplinary approach and perspective, and we need insights from people across fields with a range of expertise, in collaboration with policymakers and the public, to help tackle this significant, and globally worsening, issue.

It also needs an early prevention, rather than late intervention framework: the sooner we can identify risks and growing issues, the better for everyone. And we need to focus on understanding underlying mechanisms of the variety of mental health issues we see — treating mental health is about so much more than just treating a set of symptoms. Part of this is about identifying factors that mediate and moderate mental health problems; another part is identifying — and promoting — positive mental health outcomes.

Together, public mental health promotion requires effective translation of research to front-line practice and policy groupings linked to promoting positive life course mental health and development.

Public Mental Health team

 

Related research groups


Enurture Network: Multi-institution network promoting young people’s mental health in a digital world.

Rudd Centre: Interdisciplinary research and teaching centre based at the Faculty of Education that focuses on vulnerable children, families and improving the life chances of young people.

SPHR Cambridge: As part of the NIHR School for Public Health Research partnership, researchers at Cambridge are conducting various projects relating to public mental health and children, young people and families.