Adolescents' Empowerment for Mental Health Literacy in School: A Pilot Study on ProLiSMental Psychoeducational Intervention

The effect of creative drama education given to nursing students on mental health literacy levels: A randomized controlled study

AIM

The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of education provided to nursing students on MHL levels.

METHODS

The study had a randomized pre-test post-test parallel control group design. Fifty-six (n = 56) first-year nursing students. In this study, CONSORT flow diagram was applied. The data collection forms consist of a personal information form and Mental Health Literacy Scale. In the statistical analysis Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and Mann-Whitney U test were used.

RESULTS

Creative drama education was found to be significantly more effective than classroom education in increasing scores on the mental health literacy scale, including sub-dimensions for awareness of mental disorders, ability to access information, and stigma in nursing students (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Classroom education and creative drama are effective in changing mental health literacy scales. It is recommended to spread the use of creative drama, which is one of the artistic and interactive educational techniques in nursing education.

National myeloma patient survey shows continuing inappropriate imaging and geographical inequalities

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the provision of imaging at diagnosis of myeloma from the service user perspective with a specific focus on how the experiences of patients align with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines (NG35, 2016) on first-line imaging practice for myeloma in the United Kingdom.

METHODS

A national survey was performed to evaluate access to imaging from the patient's perspective. Patients with myeloma who received their diagnosis between 2017 and March 2022 were invited to participate. Data were collected using an online survey from 895 patients and carers between 4 and 14 March 2022.

RESULTS

Most patients had more than one imaging test. First-line MRI was used in 69.2% of respondents. First-line skeletal survey (SS, whole body X-rays) remained common (48.7% of respondents). 18F-fluorodexyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) was used least often (23.1% of respondents). SS was used more often in East England (57.9%) and Scotland (61.2%) than in South East England (36.3%).

CONCLUSIONS

Despite NICE recommendations, first-line MRI was not used in a third of patients surveyed, with geographical variation in imaging practice. Patients are still undergoing multiple imaging tests at diagnosis. Healthcare professionals should continue to emphasize the superiority of MRI compared to SS to drive for improvements in care.

ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE

Current recommendations on first-line imaging for myeloma are not provided consistently across the United Kingdom. There is a need to drive change and support healthcare professionals to deliver guidance-based recommendations to improve experience and outcomes for patients.

Characteristics of mental health literacy measurement in youth: a scoping review of school-based surveys

Mental health literacy (MHL) was introduced 25 years ago as knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders which aid in their recognition, management, or prevention. This scoping review mapped the peer-reviewed literature to assess characteristics of secondary school-based surveys in school-attending youth and explore components of school-based programs for fostering MHL in this population. The search was performed following the method for scoping reviews by the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI). Searches were conducted in four scientific databases with no time limit, although all sources had to be written in English. Primary studies (N = 44) provided insight into MHL surveys and programs for school-attending youth across 6 continents. Studies reported that most youth experience moderate or low MHL prior to program participation. School-based MHL programs are relatively unified in their definition and measures of MHL, using closed-ended scales, vignettes, or a combination of the two to measure youth MHL. However, before developing additional interventions, steps should be taken to address areas of weakness in current programming, such as the lack of a standardized tool for assessing MHL levels. Future research could assess the feasibility of developing and implementing a standard measurement protocol, with educator perspectives on integrating MHL efforts into the classroom. Identifying the base levels of MHL amongst school-attending youth promotes the development of targeted programs and reviewing the alignment with program components would allow researchers to build on what works, alter what does not, and come away with new ways to approach these complex challenges, ultimately advancing knowledge of MHL and improving levels of MHL.

Adolescent boys' experiences of mental health and school health services - an interview study from Norway

BACKGROUND

Mental health problems among adolescents is a global challenge. During the transition to adolescence, physiological, psychological, and social changes occur, leading to increased vulnerability. Thus, adolescent boys are less likely to seek help for mental health problems, which makes them an undetected group. The aim of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of adolescent boys' experiences of mental health and school health service.

METHODS

An inductive, qualitative design was chosen using three focus group interviews and three individual interviews. The study included 18 adolescent boys in 7th grade, in a school located in a medium-sized municipality in Norway. The interviews were analysed with qualitative content analysis. The consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ) were followed in this study.

RESULTS

The overall theme "barriers towards seeking help", and three categories- navigating stigma and privacy concerns; perceptions of self-responsibility; and lacking knowledge of mental health problems and help-seeking-described the adolescent boys experiences. The awareness and willingness to seek help were present, but there are barriers preventing the adolescent boys from acting on that willingness.

CONCLUSIONS

Lack of knowledge and a non-permissive culture for mental health problems among adolescents contributes to decreased help-seeking behaviour among adolescent boys. The school health service is the most related health service for adolescents and should focus on being available and strengthening empowerment and mental health literacy through the development and implementation of interventions to promote mental health.

Empowering Chinese university health service providers to become mental health champions: insights from the ACE-LYNX intervention

Background

Evidence shows that there is a high prevalence of mental health challenges including depression and anxiety, among Chinese university students. Providing mental health care providers with professional training is crucial to implementing effective mental health promotion initiatives in university settings. Globally, the focus of the mental health system is shifting to recovery and the importance of empowerment is increasingly being emphasized. There is a call to integrate empowerment education into professional training programs for health service providers with the goal of mobilizing them to become mental health champions capable of advancing mental health care.

Method

The ACE-LYNX (Acceptance and Commitment to Empowerment-Linking Youth and Xin i.e., "heart(s)" in Chinese) intervention took place at six universities in Jinan, Shandong Province, China. It aimed to promote mental health literacy and build capacity among mental health service providers (MHSPs) to enable them to become mental health champions at their universities and beyond. A total of 139 university MHSPs participated. We collected pre-, immediate post- and three-month-post-surveys. In addition, we recruited forty-five participants to take part in three-month- post-intervention focus group interviews to explore their experiences taking part in ACE-LYNX and applying the knowledge, skills, and insights they gained from the intervention.

Result

This paper reports on the effects of empowerment education, which is a key component of ACE-LYNX, on the MHSPs. Four themes were identified: 1) conscious awareness and behavioral change through psychological empowerment users; 2) professional insights and motivation for organizational empowerment; 3) non-self in the continuum of collective empowerment; and 4) interdisciplinary challenges and divergences in empowerment action.

Discussion

We found that it is critical to integrate empowerment education into professional training. The process of MHSPs developing their empowerment practice is characterized by their moving from individual to collective empowerment along a continuum, with organizational and collective empowerment taking place in a longer time frame. Experiential learning, empathy education, and critical reflection accelerated the continuous iterative transformative process of empowerment practices. To advance the integration of empowerment into mental health care, the engagement of organizational decision-makers and policy makers in empowerment training is critical to ensure alignment of empowerment values and competence at all levels of service provision.

Intergenerational Transmission of Mental Health Literacy and Its Mechanism: The Mediating Effect of Parent-Child Relationship and the Moderating Effect of School Mental Health Service

Background

Adolescents' mental health literacy is a topic of growing interest and studies have begun to explore the factors that influence adolescents' mental health literacy. This study investigated the relationship between parents' mental health literacy and adolescents' mental health literacy, as well as the mediating roles of parent-child relationship, and the moderating roles of school mental health service.

Methods

Questionnaires were distributed to adolescents and their parents at two time points with an interval of one month. In the first survey, 835 parents completed a mental health literacy scale and a parent-child relationship scale. In the second, 841 adolescents completed a school mental health service questionnaire and an adolescent mental health literacy assessment questionnaire. A total of 617 paired data points were matched (parents' age: M = 40.47, SD = 5.10; adolescents' age: M = 13.34, SD = 0.99).

Results

Bootstrapping results showed that parents' mental health literacy was positively associated with adolescents' mental health literacy. In addition, parent-child intimacy mediated the relationship between parents' mental health literacy and adolescents' mental health literacy. School mental health service moderated the relationship between parents' mental health literacy and parent-child intimacy and adolescents' mental health literacy.

Conclusion

Intergenerational transmission of mental health literacy from parents to adolescents and its conditions were revealed. These findings provide new insights for the intervention of adolescents' mental health literacy, and may lead future research to investigate the role of parents within the family context, as well as the influence of home-school cooperation on adolescents' mental health literacy.

Assessing the efficacy of the 'Bicho De 7 Cabeças' B-learning school-based program in enhancing mental health literacy and reducing stigma

The prevalence of mental disorders in adolescents has a considerable impact on daily life, restricting tasks and diminishing overall quality of life while potentially leading to stigmatization. This study aims to measure the impact of a mental health literacy intervention program, called "Bicho de 7 Cabeças" project, in b-learning format, on the increase of knowledge and the decrease of stigma in young people from Póvoa de Varzim, in Portugal. A quasi-experimental study was conducted, from November 2022 to May 2023, involving an experimental group ("Bicho de 7 Cabeças" protocol) and an active control group (informational brochures), utilizing a pre-test/post-test design. Mental Health Literacy Measure-MHLM, Mental Health Promoting Knowledge Scale-MHPK-10, Mental Illness Knowledge Schedule-MAKS, Reported and Intended Behaviour Scale-RIBS, and Community Attitudes toward People with Mental Illness-CAMI were used. A total of 504 young students from the 9th grade enroll in this study, with a mean age around 14 years old. There is a significant difference between stigma (p <.001) and knowledge (p <.001) scores at baseline and follow-up. The results of this study shows that interventions aimed at young people for the promotion of mental health literacy and stigma reduction are needed and more initiatives should be implemented in schools to address these problems.

Perceived Stress and Mental Health Literacy Among Chinese Preschool Teachers: A Moderated Mediation Model of Anxiety and Career Resilience

Purpose

Chinese public mental health is currently characterized by a high prevalence of mental ill health and a low consultation rate, due primarily to the nation's low mental health literacy. Previous studies have shown that occupational stress may be a risk factor for mental health literacy. In China, preschool teachers are under high pressure; however, few studies have examined the mechanisms that mediate and moderate the relationship between preschool teachers' feelings of stress and their mental health literacy.

Methods

A questionnaire was administered to 2352 preschool teachers to explore the relationship between their stress perceptions and mental health literacy.

Results

Preschool teachers' perceived stress was significantly and negatively associated with their mental health literacy, with anxiety playing a partially mediating role. Preschool teachers' career resilience moderated the relationship between perceived stress and anxiety. Perceived stress positively predicted anxiety for teachers with low levels of career resilience; for teachers with high levels of career resilience, perceived stress still positively predicted anxiety, and the higher the level of career resilience, the weaker the positive prediction of stress perception on anxiety.

Conclusion

Perceived stress directly predicted mental health literacy among preschool teachers, and also indirectly predicted mental health literacy through the mediating role of anxiety. Career resilience moderated the relationship between stress perception and anxiety. These findings provide new perspectives on the treatment and prevention of preschool teachers' mental ill health.

Development of a Proposal for a Program to Promote Positive Mental Health Literacy among Adolescents: A Focus Group Study

Over the last years, there have been several studies that have shown insufficient levels of adolescents' mental health literacy (MHL). Knowledge about intervention programs that promote positive mental health literacy (PMeHL) among adolescents is still very scarce. In this sense, we defined as objectives to identify and describe the necessary components to design a program proposal that promotes adolescents' PMeHL. We conducted an exploratory, descriptive, qualitative study using two focus groups in July and September 2022 with an intentional non-probability sample of eleven participants (nine professional experts and two adolescents). Data were analyzed using content analysis, using NVivo^® 12 software (version 12, QRS International: Daresbury Cheshire, UK). We obtained a total of four categories and eighteen subcategories: structure (context; format; contents; length and frequency; pedagogical methods; pedagogical techniques; resources; denomination), participants (target group; program facilitators), assessment (timing; evaluation instruments), other components (planning, articulation and adaptation; involvement; training; special situations; partnerships; referral). The perspectives of the professional experts and of the adolescents that we obtained from this study contributed to the design of a proposal for a program to promote adolescents' PMeHL.

From Health Literacy to Self-Care: Contributions of the Specialist Nurse in Rehabilitation Nursing

(1) Background: Initiatives aimed at assessing and intervening in health literacy have the potential to promote adherence to self-care behaviours, which is the main focus of intervention by rehabilitation nurses. Thus, the objectives were to analyse the level of health literacy of working-age citizens and identify priority areas for intervention by rehabilitation nurses. (2) Methods: Quantitative, correlational and cross-sectional study, conducted in a multinational company, with the participation of 161 workers. The data were collected between 14 April and 7 May 2021, using a self-completion questionnaire composed of sociodemographic and clinical characterization and the European Health Literacy Survey, following a favourable opinion from the Ethics Committee and the company’s management. (3) Results: Overall, low to moderate literacy scores were predominant. Age and education were significantly associated with literacy scores. Workers with higher levels of health literacy had no diagnosed illnesses, took less medication, reported less sadness, fewer memory changes and less muscle and joint pain. (4) Conclusions: The fact that higher levels of health literacy trigger self-care behaviours and, consequently, fewer health problems reinforces the need for rehabilitation nurses to invest in this area.

Psychoeducational interventions to promote adolescents' mental health literacy in schools: Identifying theory for the development of a complex intervention

TOPIC

The concept of mental health literacy (MHL) was defined as the knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders that help in their recognition, management, or prevention. The complexity of interventions to promote adolescents' MHL requires that they be investigated through a process of development, feasibility/piloting, evaluation, and implementation, according to Medical Research Council (MRC) Framework.

PURPOSE

This article aimed to identify the theory that supports the development of a psychoeducational intervention to promote adolescents' MHL in schools, possibly to be developed by mental health and psychiatric nurses.

SOURCES USED

Journal articles, books, reports, and regulations.

CONCLUSIONS

This theory allows us to design a psychoeducational intervention to promote adolescents' MHL in schools and supports the subsequent phases of the MRC Framework.

Positive Mental Health Literacy: A Concept Analysis

Background

The positive component of Mental Health Literacy (PMeHL) refers to a person’s awareness of how to achieve and maintain good mental health. Although explored recently, the term still lacks a clear definition among healthcare practitioners.

Aim

To identify the attributes and characteristics of PMeHL, as well as its theoretical and practical applications.

Methods

Literature search (using the Medline and CINAHL databases) and review, covering the last 21 years, followed by concept analysis according to the steps described by Walker and Avant approach.

Results

Positive component of Mental Health Literacy is considered one component of MHL, integrating positive mental health. The concept’s attributes include: (a) competence in problem-solving and self-actualization; (b) personal satisfaction; (c) autonomy; (d) relatedness and interpersonal relationship skills; (e) self-control; and (f) prosocial attitude. Four case scenarios (model, borderline, related and contrary cases) were used to clarify the antecedents (individual factors and social/contextual factors) and consequences (individual sphere; relational/social sphere; contextual/organizational sphere) of PMeHL.

Conclusion

Positive component of Mental Health Literacy is considered a component of MHL, which deserves attention throughout the lifespan, in different contexts and intervention levels. Considering PMeHL as a multi-faceted and dynamic construct will help understand the mechanisms that improve mental health and promote healthy behaviors. Priority should be given to robust primary research focused on nursing interventions that enhance and sustain PMeHL in people and families.

Uncertainty Makes Me Emotional: Uncertainty as an Elicitor and Modulator of Emotional States

Uncertainty and emotion are an inevitable part of everyday life and play a vital role in mental health. Yet, our understanding of how uncertainty and emotion interact is limited. Here, an online survey was conducted (n = 231) to examine whether uncertainty evokes and modulates a range of negative and positive emotions. The data show that uncertainty is predominantly associated with negative emotional states such as fear/anxiety. However, uncertainty was also found to modulate a variety of other negative (i.e., sadness/upset, anger/frustration, and confusion) and positive (i.e., surprise/interest and excited/enthusiastic) emotional states, depending on the valence of an anticipated outcome (i.e., negative and positive) and the sub parameter of uncertainty (i.e., risk and ambiguity). Uncertainty increased the intensity of negative emotional states and decreased the intensity of positive emotional states. These findings support prior research suggesting that uncertainty is aversive and associated with negative emotional states such as fear and anxiety. However, the findings also revealed that uncertainty is involved in eliciting and modulating a wide array of emotional phenomena beyond fear and anxiety. This study highlights an opportunity for further study of how uncertainty and emotion interactions are conceptualised generally and in relation to mental health.

The Effectiveness of Psychoeducational Interventions in Adolescents’ Anxiety: A Systematic Review Protocol

The COVID-19 pandemic had a strong impact on increasing anxiety in adolescents. This systematic review aims to identify the most effective psychoeducational interventions for reducing anxiety in adolescents following the guidelines of the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI). The inclusion and exclusion criteria have been defined, and the search strategy has been planned. The search strategy will aim to locate both published and unpublished studies using, among other databases: CINAHL Plus with Full Text; PubMed; the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials; and the JBI Database of Systematic Reviews. Following the search, all identified citations will be collated and uploaded into Endnote, and duplicates removed. Titles and abstracts will then be screened by two independent reviewers and by a third reviewer if a disagreement occurs. The results of the search will be reported in full in the final systematic review and presented in the PRISMA flow diagram. Eligible studies will be critically appraised for methodological quality using standardized critical appraisal instruments from the JBI. Data will be extracted from the studies included using the standardized JBI data extraction tool. For data synthesis, studies will be pooled using JBI SUMARI. The GRADE approach for grading the certainty of evidence will be followed, and a summary of findings will be created using GRADEPro GDT software. The results from this systematic review are expected to provide an overview of the most effective psychoeducational interventions for reducing anxiety in adolescents, allowing researchers to design and propose a new multicomponent psychoeducational intervention that will be validated and tested in the future. PROSPERO protocol registration number: CRD42020204356.