Developing Research and Surveillance for Positive Mental Health: A Canadian Process for Conceptualization and Measurement

The article reviews definitions of positive mental health and related concepts. It describes the development of a formal definition to support the measurement of positive mental health in the 2012 CCHS, including relevant government policy statements and the progress and decisions of international working groups sponsored by the Public Health Agency of Canada and assisted by Statistics Canada. The implications of the operational definition of positive mental health are discussed, including the identification of risk factors, analysis of sub-populations and support for health promotion interventions. Suggestions are provided for analysis of the national data that will be produced.