The Construction of a Mental Health Component for the National Survey: NMHS 2015, Colombia

Introduction Usually, mental health has been defined as the absence of mental disorders. In order to approach this concept in a plain sanitas way, it was considered necessary to crosslink a component for the National Mental Health Survey 2015 (NMHS; ENSM for its acronym in Spanish), that would respond to the specific orientation and particularities of the country. Objective To describe the structure and contents of the mental health component of the NMHS 2015 for the Colombian population over 7 years of age. Methods Review, documentary analysis and discussion regarding the concepts and tools with the team in charge of the NMHS and other groups. Results 353 documents were reviewed, and 180 were analyzed and discussed. The component model is presented, considering the ethic dimension of relationship care as a main element; it merges two inquiry dimensions or categories: subjective-relational, and social-collective. Conclusions The structured mental health component provides information regarding the entire population. It also allows understanding and approaching the concept of mental health as a personal and collective “good life”.