Background: Multiple factors shape health and mental well-being. These factors are considered indicators for a holistic assessment of the construct of well-being. Analyzing existing literature on indicators related to health and mental well-being in order to support a comprehensive evaluation within the sub-Saharan African context is necessary foe the assessment and improvement of the population’s health and mental well-being.
Methods: This study is a literature review carried out by adapting the POWER framework while leveraging the Web of Science (WoS) database and was complemented with random Google-led searches. Leveraging on the POWER framework, this paper reviewed related literature on mental health and well-being based on which a framework for action was reached.
Results: Going through the planning, writing and reflection phases, of the POWER framework, the WoS database search produced 22 pieces of literature published in South Africa from 2014 to 2022 and 5 pieces of literature published in Nigeria from 2019 to 2022 with 26 manuscripts across higher institutions in South Africa and eight manuscripts with various organisations. The study revealed abilities to realise potentials, coping with the normal stresses of life, work productively and fruitfully, and meaningful community engagement as some of the important mental health indicators. The reviewed literature revealed that mental well-being as a multi-phased construct is fast gaining attention in sub-Saharan African contexts.
Conclusion: This study concluded that mental health and wellbeing assessment has multiple indicators being largely deployed linearly using Western-developed or validated assessment instruments. Therefore, an adaptive health and mental well-being assessment with more accurate assessment capacity should be developed as an illness prevention intervention approached transdiciplinarily.