In recent years, there has been an important commitment to the development of programs to promote mental health literacy (MHL) among adolescents, due to the prevalence of mental health problems and the low level of MHL that affects this group. The aim of this study was to map the structure and context of programmes/interventions for promoting MHL among adolescents in school settings. A scoping review was conducted following the guidelines of The Joanna Briggs Institute. We searched for studies on programmes/interventions promoting at least one of the components of MHL of adolescents, written in Portuguese, English or Spanish, published from 2013 to 2020, in MEDLINE, CINAHL Plus with Full Text, SciELO, SCOPUS, OpenGrey, RCAAP and in the article reference lists. This review included 29 articles. The majority of programmes/interventions addressed one or more of the four components of MHL, with the knowledge of mental disorders and stigma reduction components being the most covered; were taught by adolescent’s regular teachers; used face to face interventions; had a height variable duration; used non-validated instruments; were implemented in a classroom environment; and showed statistically significant improvements in adolescent’s MHL levels. More research is needed to implement/construct programmes/interventions promoting adolescents’ MHL concerning knowledge on how to obtain and maintain good mental health.
This study aimed to assess adolescents′ Mental Health Literacy (MHL) level, Positive Mental Health (PMH) level, the association between sociodemographic variables and the MHL and PMH levels, and the relationship between adolescent′s MHL and PMH levels. A quantitative, cross-sectional, correlational study was conducted with a convenience sample of 260 adolescents studying in the 5th to 12th years of school. The Mental Health Knowledge Questionnaire, the Mental Health-Promoting Knowledge, and the Positive Mental Health Questionnaire were used for data collection. Most of the adolescents were female (55.8%) with a mean age of 14.07 years. The participants showed good levels of MHL (MHKQ). The participants showed good levels of MHL (MHKQ = 60.03; MHPK-10 = 4.49) and high levels of PMH ( = 128.25). The adolescents with higher levels of MHL were the oldest, in a higher year of school, female, those whose mothers are employed, those who have healthy eating habits, and those who have a better body image self-perception. Adolescents in a lower year of school, with adequate sleep habits, who spend fewer hours a day in front of a screen or online, and who have a better self-perception of mental and physical health and body image were the ones with higher PMH levels. These findings suggest the need to implement experimental or quasi-experimental studies to ascertain the effectiveness of interventions that promote adolescents′ positive mental health literacy.
The progressive development of Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) implies the need to train health professionals in such field, for which e-learning and blended learning methods are increasingly been used. Most nurses lack experience and training in MIS, so a laparoscopic blended learning course for nursing has been created. To perform the validation of the online theoretical module of such course to evaluate student perception and satisfaction, sociability and usability metrics, and also the interest of nurses in blended learning. A quantitative design has been used. 24 nurses participated in the validation tests performing the online module of the course. Subjective (questionnaires) and objective (performance statistics) metrics were analysed. The e-learning environment has ease of access, good layout, consistency and intuitive navigation. Chat and forums have not been used and nurses miss a moderator. Participants consider that videos provide added value to the course, and contents are easily understandable and of high quality. However, questionnaires are not well balanced in difficulty and few interactive 3D designs have been viewed. Participants consider blended learning as the most effective training method for its flexibility in time and place. This study suggests that a simple, easy-to-use and attractive e-learning environment has been developed to train nurses in MIS. However, installation of additional software should be avoided. A moderator/tutor should manage forums to encourage user participation, using conversational agents. But nevertheless, chats have no interest. Questionnaires for content evaluation should be designed with efficiency and equity. Videos designed according to micro-learning, with audio and interactivity, should be included. These courses should be designed to meet factors to promote the engagement of students. Blended learning is considered by nurses as ideal method for training, but further research to assess whether it improves learning outcomes is needed.
Background: Psychological vulnerability (PV) indicates the individual’s inability to adapt to stressful situations. Adolescents experience negative impacts on their future mental health if they do not acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to have good mental health during their developmental stage. Aim: To compare the PV index among the three stages of adolescence and to explore the factors involved in good mental health, including the relationship between adolescents’ PV indices and sociodemographic variables, and the relationship between adolescents’ PV index and their knowledge of the factors that characterize good mental health. Method: An exploratory, cross-sectional, correlational study was carried out in three public schools in a region of Portugal, using online self-completed questionnaires: the Psychological Vulnerability Scale (PVS) and the Mental Health-Promoting Knowledge (MHPK-10). Results: Our convenience sample consisted of 260 adolescents, with a mean age of 14.07 years who were students between 5th and 12th grades, mostly female. Moderate PV indexes were obtained that were higher in late adolescence, i.e., in older adolescents, who were females in a more advanced school year, with worse self-perceptions of their physical and mental health and body image, and who frequently used a health service due to mental health problems. The association between the PV index and the level of knowledge about the factors involved in good mental health did not reach a statistical significance (p = 0.06). Conclusions: These results suggest a need for a design of personalized interventions that promote adolescents’ mental health literacy, that prevent PV, and that should be initiated in early adolescence.
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.
Objective: To analyze potentialities of the use of photo-elicitation technique as a tool of access to the real needs of the beneficiaries of the intervention of health professionals. For this purpose, the aspects of their quality of life that they considered more relevant were identified with an elderly group. Method: It is a qualitative investigation in which the discourse of the elderly on the changes to their quality of life is encouraged through the use of photographic images. Results: Based on the data obtained, it was possible to identify the aspects of quality of life considered more relevant by the elderly, allowing, therefore, to sustain a later intervention adjusted to the needs and expectations of the elderly. Final considerations: The use of photo-elicitation allowed verifying its potentialities as a strategy to collect significant and relevant information for the planning of interventions in the Health area.