The Impact of Mental Health Literacy on Help-Seeking Intentions: Results of a Pilot Study with First Year Psychology Students

This study evaluated the impact of “In the Know” mental health literacy training for Canadian agriculture. We hypothesized that “In the Know” would significantly increase participants’ knowledge around mental health, confidence in recognizing mental health struggles, confidence in speaking about mental health with others, and confidence in helping someone who may be struggling with mental health. “In the Know” was a 4-h, in-person program delivered by a mental health professional who also had experience in agriculture. Six sessions were offered in Ontario, Canada in 2018. Participants were farmers and/or worked primarily with farmers. A pre-training paper questionnaire was administered, followed by a post-training questionnaire at the end of the session and 3 and 6 month post-training questionnaires via email. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were performed to compare participants’ self-reported knowledge and confidence across four timepoints. “In the Know” significantly improved participants’ self-reported mental health knowledge and confidence in recognizing mental health struggles, speaking to others, and helping others who are struggling immediately following training and often at 3 and 6 months post-training. This is the first study among farming populations to measure program impact with 3- and 6-month follow-ups. Given the reported associations between mental health literacy and increased help-seeking, disseminating “In the Know” more broadly across farming communities may help to increase mental health literacy and thus increase help-seeking among farmers.

Download Full-text

Preparing for the Classroom: Mental Health Knowledge Improvement, Stigma Reduction and Enhanced Help-Seeking Efficacy in Canadian Preservice Teachers

Canadian Journal of School Psychology ◽

10.1177/0829573516688596 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 33 (4) ◽

pp. 314-326 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Wendy Carr ◽

Yifeng Wei ◽

Stan Kutcher ◽

Amy Heffernan

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Preservice Teachers ◽

Health Literacy ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Mental Health Literacy ◽

Health Knowledge ◽

Help Seeking Behaviors ◽

Attitudes Toward Mental Illness ◽

Mental Health Knowledge ◽

The Impact

Mental health literacy is fundamental to improving knowledge about mental health, decreasing stigma, and, therefore, enhancing help-seeking behaviors. The purpose of this cohort study is to evaluate the impact of a mental health literacy program on preservice teachers’ knowledge, attitudes, and help-seeking efficacy. Sixty preservice teachers in a Canadian university participated in a professional development day and completed a survey of their mental health knowledge, attitudes toward mental illness, and help-seeking efficacy. Compared with baseline data, results demonstrated significant and substantial improvements on all three outcomes immediately following the session and after 3 months. Provision of mental health literacy education among preservice teachers may be an effective approach to help them better address student mental health needs in their future teaching career.

Download Full-text

Investigating the impact of masculinity on the relationship between anxiety specific mental health literacy and mental health help-seeking in adolescent males

Journal of Anxiety Disorders ◽

10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102292 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 76 ◽

pp. 102292

Author(s):

Laura H. Clark ◽

Jennifer L. Hudson ◽

Ronald M. Rapee ◽

Katrina L. Grasby

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Literacy ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Mental Health Literacy ◽

Adolescent Males ◽

The Impact ◽

The Relationship

Download Full-text

Digital mental health literacy -program for the first-year medical students’ wellbeing: a one group quasi-experimental study

BMC Medical Education ◽

10.1186/s12909-021-02990-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Marjo Kurki ◽

Gilbert Sonja ◽

Mishina Kaisa ◽

Lempinen Lotta ◽

Luntamo Terhi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Literacy ◽

Medical Students ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Mental Health Literacy ◽

Health Knowledge ◽

First Year ◽

Quasi Experimental ◽

The University

Abstract Background Medical students are prone to mental disorders, such as depression and anxiety, and their psychological burden is mainly related to their highly demanding studies. Interventions are needed to improve medical students’ mental health literacy (MHL) and wellbeing. This study assessed the digital Transitions, a MHL program for medical students that covered blended life skills and mindfulness activities. Methodology This was a one group, quasi-experimental pretest-posttest study. The study population was 374 first-year students who started attending the medical faculty at the University of Turku, Finland, in 2018-2019. Transitions was provided as an elective course and 220 students chose to attend and 182 agreed to participate in our research. Transitions included two 60-minute lectures, four weeks apart, with online self-learning material in between. The content focused on life and academic skills, stress management, positive mental health, mental health problems and disorders. It included mindfulness audiotapes. Mental health knowledge, stigma and help-seeking questionnaires were used to measure MHL. The Perceived Stress Scale and General Health Questionnaire measured the students’ stress and health, respectively. A single group design, with repeated measurements of analysis of variance, was used to analyze the differences in the mean outcome scores for the 158 students who completed all three stages: the pre-test (before the first lecture), the post-test (after the second lecture) and the two-month follow-up evaluation. Results The students’ mean scores for mental health knowledge improved (-1.6, 95% Cl -1.9 to -1.3, P<.001) and their emotional symptoms were alleviated immediately after the program (0.5, 95% Cl 0.0 to 1.1, P=.040). The changes were maintained at the two-month follow up (-1.7, 95% Cl -2.0 to -1.4, P<.001 and 1.0, 95% Cl 0.2 to 1.8, P=.019, respectively). The students’ stress levels reduced (P=.022) and their attitudes towards help-seeking improved after the program (P<.001), but these changes were not maintained at the two-month follow up. The stigma of mental illness did not change during the study (P=.13). Conclusions The digital Transitions program was easily integrated into the university curriculum and it improved the students’ mental health literacy and wellbeing. The program may respond to the increasing global need for universal digital services, especially during the lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Trial registration The trial was registered at the ISRCTN registry (26 May 2021), registration number 10.1186/ISRCTN10565335).

Download Full-text

Assessing the Effectiveness of Teachers’ Mental Health Literacy Training in Cambodia: A Randomized Controlled Trial

VNU Journal of Science Education Research ◽

10.25073/2588-1159/vnuer.4279 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 35 (3) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Bunna Phoeun ◽

Amanda J Nguyen ◽

Minh Hoang Dang ◽

Nam Thanh Tran ◽

Bahr Weiss

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Literacy ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Mental Health Literacy ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Implementation Strategies ◽

Mental Health Stigma ◽

Phnom Penh ◽

School Based ◽

The Impact

School-based mental health literacy (MHL) programs are used to reduce stigma and promote help-seeking among students and teachers. This study aimed to adapt and evaluate a teacher-delivered MHL program in Cambodia, where the impact of MHL programs has not previously been evaluated. 67 teachers and 275 students from a high school in Phnom Penh voluntarily completed the study. School staff were randomly assigned, and classrooms purposively assigned, to either a 2-day MHL training program or a control condition. Four teachers in the intervention condition were also pragmatically selected to deliver a 6-week classroom MHL curriculum to students; these teachers receive an extra day of implementation training. Teacher and student MHL were assessed before and after the intervention. Results showed significant improvements in all indicators of teacher and student knowledge and attitudes about mental illness; largest improvements were in teachers’ perceptions of dangerousness and willingness to interact. This pilot RCT supports the potential benefits of school-based MHL training in Cambodia, where there is substantial mental health stigma and discrimination. However, small to moderate effect sizes, particularly for students outcomes, suggest a need for further refinement and testing of the curriculum to optimize impact, including further consideration of implementation strategies and supports.

Download Full-text

Effect of Online Modules on Pre-Service Teacher Mental Health Literacy and Efficacy toward Inclusive Practices

Canadian Journal of Education / Revue canadienne de l éducation ◽

10.53967/cje-rce.v44i2.4601 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 44 (2) ◽

pp. 559-599

Author(s):

Chris Gilham ◽

Sherry Neville-MacLean ◽

Emily Atkinson

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Literacy ◽

Inclusive Education ◽

Perceived Stress ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Mental Health Literacy ◽

Inclusive Practices ◽

Bachelor Of Education ◽

The Impact

Mental health literacy (MHL) for pre-service teachers seeks to improve knowledge and help-seeking behaviours and decrease stigma. Increased MHL may also change perceived stress and self-efficacy for inclusive practices. This cohort study evaluates the impact of an online MHL resource for educators, embedded within a mandatory Bachelor of Education (BEd) course, on pre-service teachers’ MHL, perceived stress, and teacher efficacy toward inclusive practices. Seventy-one pre-service teachers completed the course as well as pre- and post-surveys. Results demonstrated significant and substantial improvements on knowledge, help-seeking, and perceived efficacy for inclusive practices. Increased MHL may be an effective approach in meeting the requirements of inclusive education. Keywords: mental health literacy, pre-service teachers, inclusive education, self-efficacy

Download Full-text

Changes in rehabilitation actors’ mental health literacy and support to employers: An evaluation of the SEAM intervention

Work ◽

10.3233/wor-213535 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Annika Lexén ◽

Maria Emmelin ◽

Lars Hansson ◽

Bengt Svensson ◽

Susann Porter ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Literacy ◽

Return To Work ◽

Mental Health Literacy ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Health Problems ◽

Service Users ◽

Rehabilitation Professionals ◽

Knowledge And Beliefs ◽

The Impact

BACKGROUND: Lack of mental health literacy among rehabilitation professionals and employers in the return-to-work of persons with mental health problems resulted in the development of a three-day group training program, the Support to Employers from rehabilitation Actors about Mental health (SEAM) intervention. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of SEAM on rehabilitation professionals’ knowledge and beliefs, attitudes, and supporting behaviors towards people with mental health problems and employers as part of the return-to-work process. METHODS: In this longitudinal study, 94 rehabilitation professionals were included. Data were collected prior to (T1), immediately after (T2) and 6 months after SEAM training (T3) using knowledge and attitude scales and a questionnaire on supporting behaviors. SEAM includes training in Mental Health First Aid, presentations and discussions on current research on work and mental health, and strategies and communication guidelines to use when meeting service users and employers as part of the return-to-work of persons with mental health problems. SEAM also includes a homepage with targeted employer information. Data were analyzed using non-parametric statistics. RESULTS: SEAM significantly increased rehabilitation professionals’ knowledge of mental health (T1-T2: z = –2.037, p = 0.042; T2-T3: z = –5.093, p = 0.001), and improved their attitudes towards persons with mental health problems (T1-T2: z = 4.984, p = 0.001). Professionals (50–60%) also estimated that they had increased their use of supporting strategies towards service users and employers. CONCLUSIONS: The study suggests that SEAM can increase mental health literacy among rehabilitation professionals and lead to a greater focus on service users’ resources and work ability, as well as on employers’ support needs.

Download Full-text

Mental health literacy among Arab university students in Israel: A qualitative study

International Journal of Social Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/00207640211036167 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 002076402110361

Author(s):

Anwar Khatib ◽

Fareeda Abo-Rass

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Literacy ◽

Mental Disorders ◽

Low Socioeconomic Status ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Mental Health Literacy ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Arab Population ◽

Professional Help ◽

Arab Students

Background: There has been a noticeable increase in the number of studies concerned with mental health literacy (MHL), specifically among students. Still, very few studies have examined MHL among students of non-Western minority groups. Aims: This study examined MHL among Arab students in Israel based on Jorm’s conceptual framework. Methods: Twenty-eight Arab students in Israel took part in semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Most were single and Muslim, in their second year of studies, and most reported low socioeconomic status. The data were analyzed thematically, guided by the Jorm’s six MHL dimensions. Results: Different levels of literacy were found in the various MHL dimensions. The participants identified severe mental disorders more easily than mood disorders; reported a variety of possible causes of mental disorders; were well aware of available professional help (apart for rehabilitative services); identified significant barriers to mental health help seeking, as Arabs; and reported the internet as a major source of information about mental health problems and their treatment Conclusions: The participants’ MHL appeared to be associated with their unique sociocultural characteristics. This study stresses the need to raise MHL among Arab students in Israel, and in particular to promote positive attitudes to seeking professional help. It also highlights the need to develop culturally adapted mental health interventions for the Arab population in Israel.

Download Full-text