LSS 2025 - Is economic policy making us sick? A path to rebuilding the Mental Wealth of nations.

Why have decades of health system strengthening not delivered the anticipated improvements in population health and wellbeing? What if we've been focusing on the symptoms rather than the true underlying causes of our greatest health challenges? This provocative presentation invites health and social sector researchers, policy makers, and professionals to think differently about future pathways to success. A/Professor Jo-An Occhipinti, Co-Director of the University of Sydney's Mental Wealth Initiative will question whether many social determinants of health are merely symptoms of deeper economic forces shaping society and why it is therefore essential we push beyond our disciplinary silos. This session introduces the Mental Wealth framework that redefines national prosperity to encompass both economic and social production, and helps us reshape the environments in which we live, work, and connect. Join this session to explore an approach increasingly recognized by global institutions as essential for achieving sustainable improvements in health and wellbeing across the life course.