Session on Integrated approaches to mental health: where do we stand, where do we need to go next?, 6 December 2021, more information at www.oecd.org/wise/well-being-and-mental-health.htm

1. Integrated approaches to well-being and mental health:
Where do we stand, where do we need to go next?
Carrie Exton | Head of Well-Being Data Insights and Policy Practice
WISE – the OECD Centre for Well-Being, Inclusion, Sustainability and Equal Opportunity
OECD Conference on Well-being and Mental Health
6-9 December 2021

2. OECD Well-being
Framework
OECD (2020) How’s Life? 2020: Measuring Well-
being, OECD Publishing, Paris
https://doi.org/10.1787/23089679
www.oecd.org/howslife
Focuses on:
• people rather than (just) the
economic system
• outcomes (for current well-
being) and long-term
resources (for future well-
being)
• both averages and
inequalities
• both objective and
subjective aspects
• well-being both today and
tomorrow

3. 2000
to
2005
2004
2002
2006
to
2010
2011
to
2015
2016
to
2021
2013
2014
2015
2009
2010
2012
2011
2021
2019
2018
2017
2016
More than half of OECD countries
have developed multidimensional
well-being frameworks
Canada’s Quality of Life Framework
Australian Treasury’s
Well-being Framework
First Report on a Well-being Framework for Ireland
Measures of Australia’s
Progress
Italics = policy led frameworks
Regular = measurement led frameworks
Finland’s Findicators
Latvia 2030
Australia’s Welfare
Israel Well-being, Sustainability and National
Resilience Indicators
Indicators of Well-being in Slovenia
Finland Strategic Government Programme
Indicators
France New Indicators of Wealth
New Zealand Living Standards Dashboard
United Kingdom Measures of National Well-
being
How’s Austria?
Italy Measures of Equitable and Sustainable
Well-being (full set)
Statistics Portugal Well-being Index
Quality of Life Indicators in Korea
Mexico Indicadores de bienestar
Belgium Complementary Indicators to GDP
Well-being in Germany
Italy Measures of Equitable and Sustainable
Well-being (short set)
Indicators Aotearoa New Zealand
Spain Quality of Life Indicators
Poland Responsible Development Index
Iceland Indicators of Well-being
Japan Cabinet Office Well-being Dashboard
Source: Adapted from OECD (2021), COVID-19 and Well-being: Life in the Pandemic http://oe.cd/covid-19-and-well-being
Switzerland updated MONET 2030 Indicators
New Zealand Treasury Living Standards
Framework
Sweden New Measures of Well-being
Norway – How We Are Doing
Netherlands Monitor of Well-being
Slovenia National Development Strategy 2030
Luxembourg Index of Well-being

4. Why measure well-being?
• provide a more complete and balanced picture of societal progress and its
sustainability (“beyond GDP”)
• highlight inequalities across a wide range of outcomes and opportunities – raising
awareness of the diversity of people’s experiences
• foster public debate and engagement about what matters the most to people, and
what outcomes governments should be prioritising
• support the strategic alignment of goals across government, priority-setting and
accountability
• promote better appraisal and evaluation of the impact of policy on people’s lives
(including more clearly identifying trade offs and synergies)

5. People with mental distress fare worse in
every dimension of well-being
Mental distress
(MHI-5) and
well-being
Source: OECD calculations based on EU-SILC,
2013 and 2018.
Legend:
• Those with mental
distress
• Those without mental
distress
• Total population
average
Share of the population
experiencing various well-being
deprivations, by mental health
status

6. Younger people experienced higher rises in unemployment
Share of the labour force who are unemployed
COVID-19
reinforced the
links between
economic, social,
relational and
environmental
dimensions of
well-being
Young people and the
unemployed had greater
risk of depression during
the pandemic, and…
Source: OECD (2021) COVID-19 and Well-being:
Life in the Pandemic, OECD Publishing, Paris,
http://oe.cd/covid-19-and-well-being
Younger people, the unemployed, & those in financial difficulty felt more lonely
% of people feeling lonely most or all of the time in the past two weeks, OECD 22
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
Apr-Jun 2020 Jun-Jul 2020 Feb-Mar 2021
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
Q4 2019 Q1 2020 Q2 2020 Q3 2020 Q4 2020 Q1 2021
Age 15 to 24 Age 25+

7. What does a well-being lens mean for policy practice?
Strategic planning
• Vision and target setting
New institutional structures
• Civil service capacity building
• Supporting the budget process
• Accountability mechanisms
• Exton, C. and M. Shinwell (2018), "Policy use of well-being metrics: Describing countries’ experiences", OECD Statistics Working Papers, No.
2018/07 https://doi.org/10.1787/d98eb8ed-en.
Sources:
• Durand, M. and C. Exton (2019), “Adopting a Well-Being Approach in Central Government: Policy Mechanisms and Practical Tools", Global Happiness and
Well-Being Policy Report 2019, SDSN https://s3.amazonaws.com/ghwbpr-2019/UAE/GH19_Ch8.pdf.

8. What kind of priorities emerge from taking a well-being lens?
Iceland 2021-25 Fiscal Strategy
Six well-being priorities: A framework for the
government’s prioritisation and future vision
Used as the basis for drafting the government’s
five-year fiscal strategy and annual budget
• Mental health
• Secure housing
• Better life-work balance
• Zero-carbon emissions
• Innovation growth
• Better communication with the public
5 priorities identified in New Zealand’s
first Well-being Budget (2019):
• Creating opportunities for productive businesses,
regions, iwi (Māori tribes) and others to transition
to a sustainable and low-emissions economy;
• Supporting a thriving nation in the digital age
through innovation, social and economic
opportunities;
• Lifting Māori and Pasifika incomes, skills and
opportunities;
• Reducing child poverty and improving child well-
being, including addressing family violence;
• Supporting mental well-being for all New
Zealanders, with a special focus on under 24-year-
olds.

9. What is a well-being assessment? Canada 2021 Budget
Source: https://www.budget.gc.ca/2021/home-accueil-en.html

10. Source: https://www.budget.gc.ca/2021/home-accueil-en.html

11. Source: Figure 1.2, page 68,
Chapter 1
https://www.budget.gc.ca/2021
/home-accueil-en.html
Canada 2021
Budget measures
that address the
social and
economic factors
of mental health

12. BETTER DATA FOR PROMOTION
How can we improve the quality and availability of comparable
data on population-wide mental health status?
WELL-BEING RISK AND RESILIENCE FACTORS
What are the interlinkages between mental health and people’s
economic, social, environmental and relational realities?
INTEGRATED APPROACHES
What are lessons learned from existing whole-of-government
strategies for well-being and mental health?
OECD project on well-being and mental health
(final report early 2023)
 Using a well-being lens to support mental ill-health prevention; good mental
health promotion; and greater health equity

13. • For more information:
www.oecd.org/wise/well-being-and-
mental-health.htm .
• Subscribe to WISE’s monthly newsletter:
https://oe.cd/wellbeingnews
• Get in touch:
carrie.exton@oecd.org
lara.fleischer@oecd.org
How to get involved
Thanks!