113 - Promotion of Mental Health among Perinatal Mexican-American Adolescents through Health Literacy

Abstract

Purpose: Health literacy is an important component of maternal health because it empowers the individual not only by gaining knowledge, but to seek assistance and early treatment promoting positive health outcomes for mother and child. There is limited research about perinatal Mexican-American adolescents' knowledge and attitudes concerning perinatal depression. A mixed-methods approached was utilized to understand the phenomenon of adolescent mental health literacy concerning perinatal depression. These methods included a quantitative review of the literature, a secondary analysis of existing quantitative data, a theoretical analysis of two health literacy frameworks, and an instrumentation study. This body of work utilized various methods to understand adolescent mental health literacy concerning perinatal depression.