Social justice as construct for a mental healthcare policy from the social determiners of society

Abstract

This article arouses a debate with a critical view of social justice as a structural determinant –from the model of social determinants– of mental health. To do this, it is important to remember what dictate the World Health Organization (WHO) and the law 1751 of 2015 issued by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of Colombia, especially in its ninth article, which focuses on operationalizing the social determinants under an orientation to reduce the inequalities and promote good health and its improvement, raising life quality. However, being in a reality so complex and full of factors that alter the status quo of what justice should be in a democratic framework, affecting the integrity, welfare, quality, and harmony of the people, the discussion on the role of social justice in mental scenarios is brought. Phenomena like violence, for instance, will be one of those elements that undoubtedly affect this inalienable right. Thus, talking about a mental healthcare policy from the social determiners and covered under some integrating perspectives –as for instance from a collective approach–allows analyzing the condition of an analytical stance beyond the pathological, and considering the being as a social, historical, psychological, cultural, and political subject, and thus, also their mental health.