Developing mental health policy in Sweden: a policy analysis exploring how a complex societal challenge was consigned to individual citizens to solve

Abstract

Sweden, like many other countries, faces increasing problems related to mental ill-health. To address this problem the Swedish government developed a new mental health policy in 2015. This study aims to explore and analyse the development of this mental health policy. A case study was conducted. Four years were chosen. In all, 127 national and regional key documents were selected for analysis. In conducting a policy analysis it was found that structural aspects of mental health were lost when the national policy was received in regional settings, which traditionally address persons with mental ill-health. Regional policies presented interventions ranging from preventive interventions to specialized multisector care. The individuals varied from healthy persons to those with severe mental illness. Although the interventions were aimed at changing individuals, research shows mental ill-health also needs to be addressed structurally. The location of responsibility was discussed in terms of solving wicked problems using tame local solutions. The regional context lacked the power required to change societal structures, such as labour market conditions. The available solutions included individual interventions in which each individual was responsible for solving the mental ill-health challenge.