scholarly journals Assessment of a website aimed at providing information on mental health to secondary school students in Can Tho city, Vietnam

Author(s):  
Dat Tan Nguyen ◽  
Tam Thi Pham ◽  
E. Pamela Wright ◽  
Joske Bunders

Abstract Background The stigmatization of mental health problems is a primary barrier for young people to approach mental health services when they suspect they might have such problems. Nevertheless, the internet has become a common platform on which they are likely to seek information on mental health. As such, this study aimed to explore responses from secondary school students in Can Tho city regarding suckhoetre.vn website. This website provided information on health and mental health, and this study assessed the potential relevance, appeal, accessibility, usefulness, and sustainability of the website. Methods A cross-sectional study included 643 secondary school students in Can Tho city selected by cluster sampling. Two weeks after the students were introduced to the website, they were invited to evaluate it using an anonymous questionnaire. The Chi-squared test was used to assess the significance of differences in the distribution of selected students’ sociodemographic characteristics. Results Most (98.6%) participants visited the website in the two-week period, 74% once or twice a week, the others more often, up to once a day. Their activities included reading information (85.8%), seeking help (17.7%), sharing information (15.5%), giving advice to others (11.0%), and chatting or giving comments (9.8%). Most students rated the website very highly in terms of appeal, relevance, accessibility, and usefulness, and wanted to have access to the website in the future. These findings are positive signals to pursue the possible use of a website on mental health for secondary school students to help raise awareness and support good mental health among adolescents in Can Tho city and beyond. Conclusion A website designed to provide information to secondary school students appeared to be a promising way to provide access to information on the topic of mental health. The website should be maintained and introduced widely to students, teachers and parents, with regular evaluation of the effectiveness of this website.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dat Tan Nguyen ◽  
Tam Thi Pham ◽  
E. Pamela Wright ◽  
Joske Bunders

Abstract Background: The stigmatization of mental health problems is a primary barrier for young people to approach mental health services when they suspect they might have a problem. Instead it is becoming common, especially for youth, to look for information on the Internet. This study explored the responses of secondary school students in Cantho city to the suckhoetre.vn website, which aimed to provide information on health and mental health, and to assess its potential relevance, appeal, accessibility, usefulness, and sustainability. Methods: A cross-sectional study included 643 secondary school students in Cantho city selected by cluster sampling. Students were introduced to the website; after two weeks they were invited to evaluate it using an anonymous questionnaire. The Chi-squared test was used to assess the significance of differences in the distribution of selected sociodemographic characteristics.Results: Most (98.6%) of the students visited the website in the two-week period, 74% once or twice a week, the others more often, up to once a day. Their activities included reading information (85.8%), seeking help (17.7%), sharing information (15.5%), giving advice to others (11.0%), and chatting or giving comments (9.8%). Most students rated the website very highly in terms of appeal, relevance, accessibility, and usefulness, and wanted to have access to the website in the future. These findings are positive signals to pursue the application of a website on mental health for secondary school students as a contribution to better mental health for adolescents in Cantho city and elsewhere.Conclusion: A website designed to provide information to secondary school students appeared to be an effective way to provide access to information on the sensitive topic of mental health. The website should be maintained and introduced more widely to students, teachers and parents, with a continuous evaluation of its effectiveness.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 801-811
Author(s):  
Dat Tan Nguyen ◽  
E. Pamela Wright ◽  
Tam Thi Pham ◽  
Joske Bunders

Abstract The objectives of the study were to explore the experiences of school health officers in identifying and managing mental health problems of secondary school students and to gather recommendations from the school officers for improving the effectiveness of mental health care in secondary schools in Can Tho City, Vietnam. We conducted a qualitative study based on in-depth interviews using a semi-structured guideline with 15 school health officers at 15 secondary schools in Can Tho City, Vietnam. Data were analyzed using content-driven analysis to identify recurring themes. The school health officers reported that stress, depression, suicidal ideation, and sexual orientation issues were the most commonly encountered mental health problems among their students. The officers worked with a limited range of interventions for helping these students, such as giving non-narcotic analgesics or advising students to take a short break at school or to go home. Most of them felt that their training was insufficient to deal with mental health problems in an optimal way. They recommended further training to improve their knowledge and skills in recognizing and managing mental health problems in students. They also considered a university-sponsored mental health website a good source of information on mental health care for students. School health officers reported that they did not feel well equipped to manage mental health problems because of insufficient training, lack confidence, and absence of an appropriate network for advice and referral. Updated policies and programs are needed for initial training and refresher courses, which will strengthen the role of school health officers as first line support for secondary school students with mental health problems.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gunn Pungpapong ◽  
Rasmon Kalayasiri

Abstract Background: Stressors introduced to adolescents by COVID-19 social distancing measures may cause mental health problems to (re)surface. We studied depression, anxiety and stress among adolescents experiencing lockdown. Methods: From May-June 2020, secondary school students were enrolled in an online cross-sectional survey through social media. We assessed presence and severity of depression (PHQ-9), anxiety (GAD-7) and stress (PSS-10) in the last month, demographics, degree of social distancing, and other associated issues.Results: Of 392 respondents (56.4% male, 43.1% female), mostly from Thailand (59.2%) and UK (26.5%). We identified depressive symptoms in 58.7%, anxiety in 40.3% and high levels of stress in 9.7%. We found, by multivariate analysis, significant associations between being female and depression and anxiety, being in late secondary school years and depression, and changes in patterns of substance use and anxiety and stress.Conclusions: We propose that girl-centred mental health support platforms should be readily available and tailored to fit specific countries’ contexts. Schools must closely monitor and act upon any concerns which arise from their students and must also monitor mental health wellbeing as changes in academic routine due to COVID-19 could be drastic for some. Harm reduction services must adapt and utilise innovative telemedicine interventions, tailored towards adolescent users.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Md. Nurul ISLAM

Studies on academic achievement worldwide are sporadic, focusing on variables more or less have been taken by the researchers, and provided knowledge. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine how the school effect influences secondary school students' academic achievements by two important significant (study habits and self-esteem). With a covenient sampling method, 400 students from eight secondary schools in Bangladesh were selected for the study. Though the students were equally divided regarding gender (Boys, 200; Girls, 200), they were different regarding school types (Public, 188; Private, 212). Their ages range from 14 to 17, with an average of 14.8. They provided responses on two Bangla version scales: Study Habit Scale and Self-Esteem Scale. Academic achievement was significantly positively correlated with both study habits (r=.268, p<.01) and self-esteem (r=.291,p<.01). Two predictors of the study were also correlated with each other (r=.283, p<.01). Public and private school students were not varied significantly in studying habits and academic achievement, but they were significantly different in self-esteem. The study habits and self-esteem jointly explained 12.3% for public school students' academic achievement whileit explained 7.5% variance for the private school students. The discussion implies that how students’ study habits and self-esteem facilitates their academic achievement.Further studies will reflect more factors influencing academic achievement.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Riva ◽  
Lynne Allen-Taylor ◽  
Will D. Schupmann ◽  
Seipone Mphele ◽  
Neo Moshashane ◽  
...  

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