Implementing a Mentally Healthy Schools Framework based on the population wide Act-Belong-Commit mental health promotion campaign

2016 ◽  
Vol 116 (6) ◽  
pp. 561-579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Anwar-McHenry ◽  
Robert John Donovan ◽  
Amberlee Nicholas ◽  
Simone Kerrigan ◽  
Stephanie Francas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Time Management ◽  
School Setting ◽  
Mental Health Promotion ◽  
World Health ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Whole School ◽  
Healthy Schools

Purpose Mentally Healthy WA developed and implemented the Mentally Healthy Schools Framework in 2010 in response to demand from schools wanting to promote the community-based Act-Belong-Commit mental health promotion message within a school setting. Schools are an important setting for mental health promotion, therefore, the Framework encourages schools to adopt a whole-of-school approach to mental health promotion based on the World Health Organisation’s Health Promoting Schools framework. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach A process evaluation was conducted consisting of six-monthly activity reports from 13 participating Western Australian schools. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with key school contacts in November 2011 with nine schools who had signed partner agreements prior to July 2011. Findings The schools valued promoting the mentally healthy message and the majority felt the programme was implemented successfully. More intensive implementation was facilitated by a proactive and enthusiastic school “champion” who had influence over other staff, and who did not have too many competing priorities. Factors inhibiting implementation included a lack of effective time management, lack of whole school commitment, and evaluation demands. Originality/value Act-Belong-Commit is a positive, proactive message making it easier for teachers to talk about mental health with their students. For schools reporting implementation success, the Mentally Healthy Schools Framework raised the profile of mental health in the school setting and fostered a sense of belonging among students.

Promotion of social and emotional competence

2015 ◽  
Vol 115 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 339-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Line Nielsen ◽  
Charlotte Meilstrup ◽  
Malene Kubstrup Nelausen ◽  
Vibeke Koushede ◽  
Bjørn Evald Holstein
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Response Rate ◽  
Emotional Competence ◽  
Mental Health Promotion ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Whole School ◽  
Whole School Approach

Purpose – Within the framework of Health Promoting Schools Up is an intervention using a whole school approach aimed at promoting mental health by strengthening social and emotional competence among schoolchildren. Social and emotional competence is an integral part of many school-based mental health interventions but only a minority of interventions measure changes in competences. The purpose of this paper is to present the intervention Up and document changes in social and emotional competence among schoolchildren before and after the intervention. Design/methodology/approach –Up consists of four components: education and activities for schoolchildren; development of staff skills; involvement of parents; and initiatives in everyday life at school. Up was implemented in two Danish schools in 2010-2011. Social and emotional competence was measured among 11-15-year old schoolchildren before (response rate 96.2 per cent, n=589) and after (response rate 83.9 per cent, n=532) the intervention. Findings – Changes in level of social competence were assessed by the prevalence of a high level of social and emotional competence before (33.3 per cent) and after (40.8 per cent) the intervention (p-value=0.01). Research limitations/implications –Up provides valuable experiences for adapting evidence-based mental health promotion to the Danish school system which is characterized by democracy, autonomy and inclusion. Future research should study the implementation and effect of Up in larger scale studies. Practical implications – The comprehensive description of Up serves as important information for policymakers and practitioners working with mental health promotion. Originality/value – The whole school approach intervention Up has the potential to promote social and emotional competence and reduce socioeconomic differences in social and emotional competence among schoolchildren.

scholarly journals Teacher Mental Health Literacy: Results from a State-wide Survey in Schools

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
U Bauer ◽  
O Okan ◽  
F Faulbaum
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Mental Health Literacy ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
School Mental Health ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Mental Health Promotion ◽  
Parental Mental Health ◽  
Whole School

Abstract Background Teachers have an important role to play in context of mental health literacy (MHL) promotion of school-aged children. Their MHL is seen as the counterpart of student`s health literacy. Especially vulnerable schoolchildren such as those affected by adverse life events (e.g. parental mental health problems) can benefit from programs. In addition, the whole school environment has impact on school mental health promotion. Yet, only little evidence is available on teachers MHL in Europe. The aim is to provide evidence from a state-wide survey on the state of MHL of teachers in Germany. Methods Based on semi-structured interviews with school teachers from all school types in one federal state, including primary and secondary schools, a MHL online questionnaire was developed. The survey was conducted in in 2017 in N = 2500 teachers in Germany. Descriptive and regression analyse have been performed. Results Teachers feel considerable uncertainties when working with children affected by adversities related to parental mental health problems. Dealing with the social family background seems hard. Teachers state that they don`t feel comfortable when aiming at mental health promotion of affected children or children in general. Data also show that they may tend to make misjudgements, and that they are not sufficiently trained to address mental health issues in the classrooms. Regression models show that the degree and quality of teaching mental health is affected by differences across school forms, satisfaction with and engagement of school principals in mental health action, learned strategies to respond to parents, and experienced stress, burden and exposure during their work. Conclusions Increasing teacher MHL and the environmental capacities and responsiveness towards school mental health promotion should be an important capacity building strategy. Policy support for school mental health promotion is a critical means to sustain effective whole-school approaches.

scholarly journals Stemming the tide: promoting mental health and preventing mental disorders in low- and middle-income countries

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. A. Tol
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Global Mental Health ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Mental Health Promotion ◽  
World Health ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Low And Middle Income

The first World Health Organization's global action plan for mental health recognizes the importance of mental health promotion and prevention of mental disorders, through the inclusion of one of four objectives focused on this crucial area of research and practice. This paper aims to provide an ‘aerial view’ of the field of mental health promotion and prevention of mental disorders with a focus on low- and middle-income countries. Starting with reasons why promotion and prevention need to take center stage in global mental health efforts, the paper provides a framework and four general principles to guide such efforts: a socio-ecological perspective (place); an inter-sectoral and interdisciplinary approach (collaboration), a developmental perspective (timing), and a participatory and empowerment approach (strengths), or PaCTS. Evidence-based examples of mental health promotion, universal, selective, and indicated prevention are described.

Promoting well-being and reducing stigma about mental health in the fire service

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenna Moffitt ◽  
Janet Bostock ◽  
Ashley Cave
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Fire Service ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Mental Health Promotion ◽  
Random Allocation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Training Conditions

Purpose – Workplace stress is a particular issue in the fire service. Research suggests this is related to excessive demands, relationships with senior managers, changing roles and exposure to traumatic events. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact on managers of three mental health promotion interventions. First, a locally developed course entitled “Looking after Wellbeing at Work” (LWW), second, an internationally developed training course: Mental Health First Aid (MHFA). Third, an hour-long leaflet session (LS). Design/methodology/approach – This study used a random allocation design. In total, 176 fire service line managers were randomly allocated to one of the three training conditions: LWW, MHFA, or a control condition (LS). Participants completed The Attitudes to Mental Illness Scale (Luty et al., 2006) and a locally developed “Mental Health Stigma Questionnaire” pre- and post-intervention. Results were analysed using a MANOVA. Participants were also asked to complete a general evaluation, rating all aspects of the courses from poor to excellent. In total, 30 participants were also chosen at random to conduct telephone interviews about their experience of the course. Results were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings – The LWW and MHFA courses were associated with statistically significant improvements in attitudes to mental illness and knowledge/self-efficacy around mental health, comparing pre- and post-scores, and comparing post-scores of the two training courses with a LS. The general evaluations of the LWW and MHFA courses indicated the mean rating for all aspects of both training conditions was good to excellent. Two themes were identified across the qualitative interviews: participants described they were more able to recognise and respond to mental health problems; and participants described changing attitudes towards mental health. Research limitations/implications – The strengths of this study are the number of participants, random allocation, and multiple facets of evaluation. The quantitative evaluation is limited, as one of the questionnaires has untested psychometric properties. The control condition was limited as it was only offered for one hour, making comparison with two-day training problematic. The qualitative evaluation was useful in gaining descriptive data, however, it may have been possible to conduct a more in-depth analysis with a smaller number of participants. Originality/value – The results from this study indicate that providing training in mental health awareness and promotion was considered helpful, by managers in the Fire Service and had positive outcomes for attitudes and understanding about mental health. While there are limitations, initial results of training in mental health promotion are promising. Such training has the potential to promote the public's mental health and wellbeing, and improve the quality of life for people with mental health problems.

scholarly journals Impact on staff of the Mentally Healthy Schools Framework

2020 ◽  
Vol 120 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 289-296
Author(s):  
Julia Anwar-McHenry ◽  
Catherine F. Drane ◽  
Phoebe Joyce ◽  
Robert J. Donovan
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Substantial Impact ◽  
Student Mental Health ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Whole School ◽  
Healthy Schools ◽  
Whole School Approach ◽  
Taking Action

PurposeThe Mentally Healthy Schools Framework (MHSF), based on the population-wide Act-Belong-Commit mental health promotion campaign, is a whole-school approach primarily targeting student mental health, but it is also intended for staff. This paper presents the results of an impact survey on staff after the implementation of the Framework in a number of schools in Western Australia.Design/methodology/approachA baseline questionnaire was completed by n = 87 staff at schools that had just signed up to the programme, and a participant questionnaire was completed by n = 146 staff at schools that had been participating for at least 17 months.FindingsThe results show that the Framework has had a substantial impact on many staff in terms of increased mental health literacy and taking action to improve their mental health.Originality/valueMental health interventions in schools generally focus on students' well-being and how to deal with student mental health problems. There are few comprehensive interventions that also include staff well-being.

GoodYarn: building mental health literacy in New Zealand’s rural workforce

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 180-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Morgaine ◽  
Louise Thompson ◽  
Katie Jahnke ◽  
Rebecca Llewellyn
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Mental Health Literacy ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
National Level ◽  
Mental Health Promotion ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Rural Workforce ◽  
The Impact

Purpose “GoodYarn” is a skills-based workshop that focusses on building mental health literacy in rural communities, members of which are known to experience geographic, attitudinal and service configuration barriers to accessing mental health services. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of the GoodYarn project on raising mental health literacy in the rural community. Design/methodology/approach GoodYarn is primarily for farmers, their families and farm workers, as well as the “farmer facing” workforce. The focus on mental health literacy aligns with the mental health promotion approach of using methods that foster supportive environments. By raising the mental health literacy of those not directly needing help, but in positions to help those that do – such as employers, rural professionals and rural support industries who are well placed to perceive stressors in farmers – GoodYarn builds a community with the knowledge and skills to identify and approach those experiencing mental distress or illness, and direct them to appropriate support and services. All participants in the GoodYarn workshops (n=430) were invited to complete a questionnaire at the end of the workshop. All participants answered the questionnaire, with over 80 per cent answering all questions. Findings Participant feedback affirmed the utility of GoodYarn as an effective vehicle to facilitate the discussion of mental illness in rural farming communities of New Zealand. GoodYarn had a significant positive impact on the three immediate workshop indicators of awareness, confidence and knowledge (p<0.001 for all three indicators). Further, the high level of concordance in workshop outcomes across various organisations’ delivery indicates programme consistency and quality has been maintained throughout the upscaling of the programme. Originality/value The uptake of the GoodYarn programme by rural organisations and communities at a national level, and the positive evaluation results, provide encouragement that building mental health literacy in the rural workforce is a promising mental health promotion strategy.

Assessing the evidence of mental health promotion criteria in a pre-registration mental health nursing programme

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 145-154
Author(s):  
A.B. Odro ◽  
L.K. Dadzie ◽  
P. Ryan ◽  
D. Collins ◽  
R. Lodoiska
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Quality Criteria ◽  
Mental Health Promotion ◽  
Mental Health Nursing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Health Nursing ◽  
The Uk

Purpose – This paper is about a single case study of a three-year BSc Mental Health Nursing degree programme based at a London University. The purpose of the paper is to evaluate the extent to which the programme sufficiently addresses the ten quality criteria developed by the “PROMISE” (2009) Mental Health Promotion Project. PROMISE (2009) is a European public health project funded by the European Commission and was conducted from 2009 to 2012. Its aim was the European-wide development of criteria and training guidelines in mental health promotion and recommended these should be integrated into the professional training curricula of nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers. Design/methodology/approach – A content analysis method (Bryman, 2012) was used for this case study. This method allowed for a line-by-line scrutiny of the contents of the curriculum for evidence of the ten PROMISE quality criteria for mental health promotion (PROMISE project; http://promise-mental-health.com/training-guidelines.html). Findings – The findings revealed that the PROMISE (2009) project was not one of the four key documents stated as forming the basis for the design of the curriculum content. However, the study found evidence of the curriculum addressing the first PROMISE criterion of embracing the principles of mental health promotion in seven of the 14 modules (50 per cent) in the programme. In the first year of the programme five of the ten PROMISE quality criteria were embedded in two of the four modules. In year 2, quality criteria 1, 4 and 7 were addressed in the course content of four of the five modules (see Table I). In the final year of the programme PROMISE quality criteria 1, 2, 4 and 8 were embedded in the syllabus and assessment strategy in two out of the five final year modules. It was also found that quality criteria 2 and 9 were not included in any of the modules in the programme. Research limitations/implications – This is a case study based on the content analysis of a single curriculum document in a London University. It is therefore not possible to make wide generalisation of its findings across the countries involved in the EU Promise project. However, it could be argued that it is possible to find a number of the key findings present in other UK University programmes that may be similar in structure to that selected for this study. The other limitation to this content analysis is that the evaluation process did not include accounts of the students’ experience on the programme. This could have contributed significantly to the outcome of the evaluation exercise. Although the methodology used is simple, practical and relatively sound, it is not necessarily rigorous in terms of quantitative research methodology but arguably an acceptable contribution to the spectrum within qualitative research paradigm. Practical implications – The emergence of the “PROMISE” criteria especially on a European-wide basis puts emphasis on the importance of mental health promotion in the training of health care professionals. This is expected to be achieved by the training institutions in the European Union. In the UK, this notion is well embraced in various health policy documents (e.g. “No Health Without Mental Health” DH 2011). In the case of the programme examined at one London University, work is required to ensure that a pervasive incorporation of mental health promotion strategies in the curriculum in order to help the students to become better equipped to understand and effectively apply the mental health promotion criteria in their work upon qualification. Originality/value – This is one of the first papers to address the “PROMISE” project and the issue of incorporating mental health promotion criteria in a pre-registration mental health pathway training programme in a university in the UK.

scholarly journals Towards dynamic and interdisciplinary frameworks for school-based mental health promotion

2017 ◽  
Vol 117 (5) ◽  
pp. 452-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catriona O’Toole
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Psychosocial Interventions ◽  
Mental Health Promotion ◽  
Content Type ◽  
School Based ◽  
Critical Pedagogies ◽  
Children's Development ◽  
Children’S Development

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to scrutinise two ostensibly disparate approaches to school-based mental health promotion and offer a conceptual foundation for considering possible synergies between them. Design/methodology/approach The paper examines current conceptualisations of child and youth mental health and explores how these inform school-based prevention and intervention approaches. The dominance of discrete, “expert-driven” psychosocial programmes as well as the potential of critical pedagogy is explored using frameworks provided by contemporary dynamic systems theories. These theories call for a situated and holistic understanding of children’s development; and they look beyond static characteristics within individuals, to view well-being in relation to the dynamic social and historical contexts in which children develop. Findings Psychosocial interventions and critical pedagogies have strengths but also a number of limitations. Traditional psychosocial interventions teach important skill sets, but they take little account of children’s dynamic socio-cultural contexts, nor acknowledge the broader inequalities that are frequently a root cause of children’s distress. Critical pedagogies, in turn, are committed to social justice goals, but these goals can be elusive or seem unworkable in practice. By bringing these seemingly disparate approaches into conversation, it may be possible to harness their respective strengths, in ways that are faithful to the complex, emergent nature of children’s development, as well as committed to correcting inequalities. Originality/value The current paper is unique in bringing together contemporary psychological theory with critical pedagogy perspectives to explore the future of school-based mental health promotion.

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