Mental Health Promotion in a Rural Context: Research and Realities from a Community-based Initiative in Northern Ireland

This paper describes the development of mental health promotion strategies for rural communities in a Northern Ireland setting. The initial phase of a community-based project targeting depression and suicide is examined. The paper brings together practitioner and research perspectives on an analysis of the factors that made this initiative possible and facilitated its development to date. This includes the process of establishing policy support for the initiative, consultation with stakeholder groups, and the carrying out of a needs assessment study. The paper is written in two sections. Section one describes the process and practical experience of planning and implementing the initial phase of the project. It details the background factors which helped to resolve the difficulties and challenges encountered in developing mental health promotion practice in a community health and social services trust setting. Section two reports on the community needs assessment study. The research approach adopted in the needs assessment is outlined and the implications of the findings from a community study on perceptions and beliefs concerning mental health issues are discussed.