Our second issue in 2026 presents eight public health articles that explore important areas of global public health. It is good to have authors writing from India, South Africa, the US, the UK, Scandinavia and Ireland. Whilst they are researching and writing from different contexts, the articles have some common themes such as workplace health, prevention amongst young people and stigma reduction. Many of the articles also have clear implications and recommendations for public health practice.
The first two articles demonstrate the importance of work to individual and societal mental health. The role of work in mental health is a strong policy issue at present and these studies reinforce the need for policies to support employment alongside rehabilitation.
In our opening paper, Amin and Yasin explore the association between employment and mental health within the Nordic context over a 50-year period 1970–2020. They show a strong association between unemployment and most mental health conditions, but that progressive social welfare provisions can mitigate this to some extent. This is followed by Majikijela and colleagues, who examine effective support to return to work after mental health issues, focusing upon public sector employees in South Africa. Using qualitative methods, they highlight the impact of workplace stigma, gaps in support (compared to the initial diagnosis stage) and pressure to prove oneself to gain acceptance. This highlights the importance of flexible workplace supports.
We then have three papers that consider young people’s experiences. We are seeing trends across societies of poor mental health and well-being amongst young people, especially post-Covid. The three studies below each approach this from a different angle, yet stigma emerges as a recurring concern across all of them.
Pathirana undertakes an evidence review of the role that obesity may play in teenagers’ mental health. It reveals strong associations with anxiety, depression and low self-esteem. Self and social stigma have an important role to play in this. Research needs to focus upon holistic solutions.
In our next study from India, Pokhriyal used qualitative methods to understand the lived experiences of young people with mental health problems. Many felt underacknowledged and conflicted about the value and burden of their diagnoses. Again, stigma emerges across contexts and Indian public mental health policies need to address this amongst young people.
Our third paper on young people by Wolstenholme and Sen explores support for male ethnic minority students in a UK university. This group often underuse or present late to well-being services and they trialled a “Listening Rooms” approach. It highlights the potential of peer-to-peer models for engaging more equitably.
Our final three papers examine very different issues. Huggard and O’Connor led an important original study to test the impact of social explanations for depression on public stigma. They assessed media representations of life circumstances, violence/abuse, relational challenges, sociopolitical turmoil and biological factors and whether these affected perceptions of dangerousness or desire for social distance amongst the public. The specific finding was that depicting depression as resulting from experiences of violence or abuse may increase the perceived dangerousness of people with depression. This is important for national anti-stigma campaigns.
Our next article moves from social perceptions to social relationships. Celedonia and colleagues in the US used group concept mapping to define how community members receiving mental health services define healthy social relationships. The core themes emerging were Trust, Honesty, Support, Open Communication, Shared Interests and Having Fun. This can help guide inclusion policies in mental health.
Our final paper examines the public mental health impact of the Maui wildfires in Hawaiʻi in 2023. Patterson and colleagues, using service data, highlight the increases in mental health support needs and suicidal thoughts arising in the aftermath of this crisis to advise future post-disaster response efforts. Taken together, the eight articles in this issue reflect the breadth and value of public health research.
