Perspectives on the mental health concept: analysis of Brazilian scientific productions

Abstract

The frequent use of the term mental health is noticeable in the field of health. It is employed in legislations, public policies, manuals, media, and designates health services. This recurrence raises questions about this concept. Therefore, this study aims to analyze it from the understanding of its theoretical models, showed by the excerpts of the scientific production. We adopted the evolutionary Concept Analysis model developed by Rodgers. Data was collected in papers available in the Scopus and Web of Science databases. We included high-impact factor papers published between 2013 and 2017, written in Portuguese and English, whose country of origin was Brazil. Duplicate and systematic and integrative reviews were excluded. Data were collected based on repeated patterns, in the following categories: a) context; b) substitute terms; c) attributes; d) antecedents and consequents; e) implications and hypotheses. We observed that mental health is a cross-cutting theme and is influenced by many knowledge areas. Mental health is related to a way of understanding health and mental illness from the paradigms of psychiatry and the Psychiatric Reform.

Key words:
Mental health; Concept formation; Psychiatry; Mental health assistance