Portugal has Europe’s second-highest prevalence of psychiatric illnesses, and this is the reason why mental health literacy (MHL) and stigma should be addressed. This study aimed to investigate the mental health literacy and stigma levels among different groups of people from Póvoa de Varzim, a municipality in the north of Portugal. Students, retired people, and professionals (education, social, and healthcare fields) were recruited using a convenience sample from June to November 2022. Participants’ MHL levels were evaluated using the Mental Health Promoting Knowledge Scale (MHPK), Mental Health Literacy Measure (MHLM) and Mental Health Knowledge Schedule (MAKS). Stigma levels were evaluated using Community Attitudes towards Mental Illness (CAMI) and the Reported and Intended Behaviour Scale (RIBS). A total of 928 questionnaires were filed. The respondents included 65.70% of women, a mean age of 43.63 (±26.71) years and 9.87 (±4.39) years of school education. MHL increased with age, education level and was higher in women (p < 0.001). A higher level of MHL was seen in health professionals (p < 0.001). Findings revealed that older people stigmatized people with mental illness more (p < 0.001), and the female gender stigmatize less (p < 0.001). In addition, results showed that stigma decreased with higher mental health literacy (r between 0.11 and 0.38; p < 0.001). To conclude, specific campaigns that promote mental health literacy should be tailored to specific profiles within this population to address those that have more 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.

Introduction: Mental health literacy refers to the knowledge and abilities needed to promote mental health, and valid and comprehensive measures are needed to assess it. In Portugal, there are few validated measures to assess knowledge about the factors that promote positive mental health. Objective: To translate and culturally adapt the MHPK-10 to the Portuguese population. Material and Methods: The sample was recruited through a nonprobabilistic method, for convenience, in several institutions of the Porto Metropolitan Area and through an online questionnaire. The validation included the translation and cultural adaptation of the MHPK-10 original version and the analysis of the psychometric properties: reliability—test-retest and internal consistency, content validity, construct validity and criterion validity. Results: The sample consisted of 1,728 individuals aged between 14 and 95 years. The internal consistency value is reasonable (α= 0.79), and the test-retest values (r=0.72) support the reliability of the instrument. The factor analysis forced to a factor resulted in satisfactory values, explaining a variance of 35.92%. In the criterion validity, a low correlation was obtained (r=0.32). Conclusion: Psychometric properties appear to be reasonable, although additional studies are needed. The present work is a positive contribution to the validation of MHPK-10.

Introdução O conceito de Bem-Estar Mental tem ganho mais destaque internacionalmente, sendo um aspeto crucial da saúde, com impacto na funcionalidade. Assim, em Portugal, impõe-se a necessidade de possuir medidas validadas que avaliem o bem-estar das populações. Objetivo: Traduzir, adaptar culturalmente e contribuir para validar a Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS), que avalia o bem-estar mental subjetivo e psicológico, para a população portuguesa. Material e Métodos: Após a aprovação da tradução portuguesa por um painel de peritos, a escala foi aplicada a 1728 indivíduos da área metropolitana do Porto recrutados por conveniência, bem como o Índice de Felicidade de Pemberton, para uma análise da validade de critério. Utilizou-se o alpha de Cronbach para avaliar a consistência interna e uma análise fatorial exploratória para a validade de construto. Ambos os instrumentos foram aplicados duas vezes a 39 participantes, com aproximadamente uma semana de intervalo, para testar a fiabilidade teste-reteste. Resultados: Obteve-se um alpha de Cronbach de 0,91, sugerindo uma consistência interna muito boa. A análise fatorial confirmou a unidimensionalidade do instrumento, com todos os itens a saturarem um único fator. Verificou-se uma alta correlação entre a WEMWBS e o instrumento usado como medida de critério, com r=0,75. A fiabilidade teste-reteste obteve uma alta correlação, com r=0,77. Conclusão: Os valores obtidos neste primeiro estudo de validação da WEMWBS para a população portuguesa encontram-se próximos dos da versão original, podendo ser considerado como um contributo legítimo e importante para a sua concretização.

Hospitalized patients are often characterized by various stress factors that can have an impact on their mental health and hospital experience. Improving the quality of life of these bedridden patients is an important task by relieving their anxiety, reducing their pain, and encouraging them in their fight against disease. Virtual reality has already been proved to be a novel and promising tool to improve the quality of life of hospitalized patients. Therefore, the purpose of this chapter is to focus on studies that gave evidence to the feasibility of virtual reality relaxation therapies for hospitalized patients, which virtual reality relaxation therapies are most used, and the benefits and limitations of this type of intervention. Request access from your librarian to read this chapter's full text.

Introduction: Although Western society has evolved culturally in the last century, moving towards liberalisation and democratisation, many prejudiced and stigmatising behaviours are still visible, especially towards minorities. Stigma is then perceived as the marginalisation and devaluation of certain individuals based on characteristics considered as different. Objective: The main objective is to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention programme "Bicho de 7 Cabeças", aimed at reducing mental health stigma in the young population of Póvoa de Varzim, through the promotion of mental health literacy. Methods: A quasi-experimental study was carried out, involving a sample of 504 participants attending the 9th grade in educational establishments in Póvoa de Varzim. Participants were divided into an experimental group, which received an intervention with educational sessions, and an active control group, which received an intervention with the delivery of informative content. The evaluation was carried out through a questionnaire in digital format, composed of sociodemographic questions and the instrument - Reported and Intended Behaviour Scale (RIBS). Results: There was a decrease in stigma levels in both groups (p<0.001), and the interaction value between the intervention effect and the RIBS score was equal (p<0.001). Conclusion: The effectiveness of the Mental Health Literacy promotion programme "Bicho de 7 Cabeças" in reducing the levels of stigma in young people from Póvoa de Varzim was found.