Identifying Evidence-Based Work on Mental Health Promotion in Schools in Europe: An Interim Report on the DataPrev Project

Abstract

This paper is an interim report on the schools element of the DataPrev project, one element of a wider project funded by the European Union which aims to increase the understanding and knowledge across Europe of evidence-based mental health promotion policy and practice by creating a database of mental health promotion and mental disorder prevention programmes, and producing policy and practice guidelines. The schools’ element of the project involves a search for both universal and targeted school based programmes in Europe which can be shown by robust criteria to have the likelihood of promoting mental health in schools, and attempts to identify the principles that support effective programmes. It includes a systematic search for existing reviews, using over 80 search terms to reflect the range of terminology used in the field across disciplinary and geographical boundaries. To date (about half way through the process) over 40 recent good quality systematic reviews have been identified, from which 16 successful evidence-based school mental health interventions have been identified. Most of these originate in the United States (US), some come from Australia and some from Europe itself. The key features of effective programmes so far identified include operating on several fronts at once (‘whole school’), developing skills in students and staff, involving learners, balancing universal and targeted approaches, and consistent implementation over a long period of time.