Philip Hill of Public Health Wales tells us about the new free tools to help organisations measure people’s mental wellbeing and how you can receive training in using them.
PROTECTING MENTAL WELLBEING
Our mental wellbeing plays a central role in our overall health. It shapes how we think, feel and act, and it influences everything from our relationships to our ability to cope with life’s ups and downs.
When our mental wellbeing is positive, we’re more likely to make healthy choices, engage with others, and live a life that feels purposeful and fulfilling. Public Health Wales refer to a state of positive wellbeing as ‘feeling good and functioning well’.
The sense of belonging, connection, and care provided by voluntary and community organisations across Wales makes a real difference to people’s mental wellbeing. By reducing isolation, bringing people together and building trust within communities, voluntary and community organisations create the very conditions in which mental wellbeing can thrive.
HOW CAN ORGANISATIONS MEASURE MENTAL WELLBEING?
Getting started with measuring mental wellbeing might seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. For voluntary and community organisations, there are simple, reliable and meaningful ways to approach it.
However, while there are many tools out there, it’s crucial to choose one that’s evidence-based, trusted, and easy to use. The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) offers a clear and practical way to understand how people are really feeling.
WHAT IS WEMWBS?
WEMWBS is a free, easy-to-use tool, designed to measure mental wellbeing in young people and adults. Unlike many assessments, WEMWBS takes a positive approach, assessing how well people are feeling and functioning in their daily lives.
It consists of 14 statements covering aspects like optimism, energy, and relationships, with participants rating how often they’ve experienced each over the past two weeks. Each statement is rated on a five point scale, with a higher overall score indicating better mental wellbeing.
A validated shorter version of seven statements – the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (SWEMWBS), is also available. SWEMWBS is often recommended for when a quick snapshot is needed or if larger scale monitoring is taking place.
Both scales are available and validated for use in Welsh.
WHY USE WEMWBS OR SWEMWBS?
By helping people and improving lives every day, voluntary and community organisations support and protect mental wellbeing across communities but many organisations face a challenge in demonstrating the difference they make.
Without a consistent way to measure mental wellbeing, organisations risk missing the full impact of their work or understanding where they might need to improve.
WEMWBS or SWEMWBS can help organisations to clearly demonstrate impact over time. The tools can also provide data to inform how services may design or adapt their offers.
EMBEDDING MENTAL WELLBEING MEASUREMENT INTO PROJECTS
The good news? Both tools are free to use for non-commercial purposes, and you do not need to be a clinical expert to use either.
Key tips include:
- Introduce the tool with care: Explain why you’re using it and how the data will be used.
- Ensure consent and confidentiality: Respect participants’ privacy and autonomy.
- Use the tool consistently: Pre and post-intervention comparisons are most powerful.
You can find both scales, along with guidance on terms of use, suitability, properties, scoring, interpretation and scoring instructions on the CORC website.
COULD YOU BENEFIT FROM FURTHER SUPPORT?
Public Health Wales are exploring whether there’s interest across the voluntary sector in Wales for dedicated training and support around using WEMWBS in practice.
Are you or your organisation interested in:
- Understanding what WEMWBS and SWEMWBS actually measure and why it matters?
- Gaining confidence in using the tools effectively with your participants or service users?
- Learning how to analyse and use mental wellbeing data to improve your services?
- Sharing learning and experiences with others in the sector?
- Discovering how mental wellbeing data can strengthen funding applications and influence policy?
Let WCVA know if you or colleagues would like to join a future webinar on this topic, by emailing healthandcare@wcva.cymru.
SURVEY
We’re running a short survey to discover what the sector knows about WEMWBS. You can take it here.
RESOURCES
You can learn more about what mental wellbeing is, why it is important to look after our mental wellbeing, and the different activities that can support it by visiting Hapus Wales, or watching this webinar from Public Health Network Cymru.
Find out more about the sector’s work in health and social care by visiting WCVA’s Health and Care Project page.