Impact of a population‐wide mental health promotion campaign on people with a diagnosed mental illness or recent mental health problem

To determine the impact of the Act‐Belong‐Commit mental health promotion campaign on people with a diagnosed mental illness or who had sought professional help for a mental health problem in the previous 12 months. In 2013 and 2014, 1,200 adults in Western Australia were interviewed by telephone. The questionnaire measured campaign reach, impact on beliefs about mental health and mental illness and behavioural impact. Campaign impact on changing the way respondents thought about mental health was significantly higher among those with a mental illness or who had sought help (41.4% vs 24.2%; p <0.001), as was doing something for their mental health as a result of their exposure to the campaign (20.5% vs 8.7%; p <0.001). The campaign appears to empower people with a mental illness or who recently sought help to take steps of their own to enhance their mental health.