Wellbeing under the lens: the relationship between science, wellbeing and mental health

Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) recently hosted "Science at the service of wellbeing and mental health", an encounter open to the public designed to promote dialogue between the academic community and the population. Emiliano Albanese, Professor at the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences and Director of the Institute of Public Health (IPH) at USI, and Andrea Raballo, Professor at USI Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, spoke about the event during the radio broadcast "Millevoci", aired on Rete Uno (RSI).

"These encounters," explained Professor Emiliano Albanese, "are designed to promote dialogue between the public and experts in the field, fostering mutual understanding. When we discuss mental health, we are referring to two elements: on the one hand, it is a prerequisite for dealing with life's difficulties, and on the other, it can be understood as wellbeing. When considered together, these two aspects of mental health contribute to society and the wellbeing of others."

Therefore, the event's primary objective was to foster dialogue and dispel mistrust towards science by avoiding the black box effect and the perception that scientific research imposes answers. "We would like to create spaces for exchange to give the community the most shareable and socially relevant aspects of clinical and scientific practices," stated Professor Andrea Raballo, outlining the motivations behind the project. "The ultimate goal of science is to serve the needs of the human community, rather than serving science itself." As Professor Albanese also recalled, good science must start with questions relevant to the community.

The encounters foster a multidisciplinary approach, in which, as Professor Raballo emphasised, "no man is an island". The importance of such an approach lies in the desire to consider emotional discomfort as "the consequence of several factors, also and above all relational and linked to life history, and not simply as the effect of a broken brain."

A final point on which the two professors emphasised is the importance of mental health awareness. Knowing how to ask for help, for example, is not always easy, so creating spaces of trust in which suffering can emerge is crucial.

The event was attended by Dr Benedetto Zefiro Mellacqua, Medical Director of the Cantonal Psychiatric Clinic and specialist in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Prof. Andrea Raballo, Professor of Psychiatry at USI and Director of Research and Training at the Cantonal Socio-psychiatric Organisation (Department of Health and Social Affairs, Public Health Division), Professors Corrado Barbui and Marianna Purgato, from the Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement at the University of Verona, and Prof. Emiliano Albanese, Director of the IPH and head of the project.

The episode of "Millevoci" is available at the following link. (Italian only)