Abstract
The rate of mental ill health has increased among children and youth during the past decade in Scotland and Sweden. School is important in influencing both health and education. The starting point for health promotion in school involves those who are affected, the students. The aim of this study was to describe and understand how mental health can be promoted in school from the perspective of young people. A total of 14 Scottish and Swedish young people aged 15–21, 11 girls and 3 boys from 3 municipalities, participated in 4 focus groups. The phenomenological analysis resulted in one main theme: Everyone is being there for each other encompassing three themes without any relative order of precedence: being in a safe, inclusive, and well-informed space; meeting adults who are available, listening, and taking action; and feeling significant and being of significance to others. Based on these findings, we suggest the following aspects to be essential when aiming to promote mental health in schools: (1) value and appreciate young people’s experiences, (2) view everyone in school regardless of age or profession to be an important piece in the mental health promotion puzzle by adopting a “whole school approach,” (3) foster a listening culture that focuses on building enabling relationships, (4) promote health and learning simultaneously to increase health literacy, (5) educate about mental health to minimize stigma and increase confidence in taking appropriate action.
Highlights
The rate of mental ill health has increased among children and youth during the past decade in Scotland and Sweden
We suggest the following aspects to be essential when aiming to promote mental health in schools: (1) value and appreciate young people’s experiences, (2) view everyone in school regardless of age or profession to be an important piece in the mental health promotion puzzle by adopting a “whole school approach,” (3) foster a listening culture that focuses on building enabling relationships, (4) promote health and learning simultaneously to increase health literacy, (5) educate about mental health to minimize stigma and increase confidence in taking appropriate action
The phenomenological analysis resulted in one main theme: Everyone is being there for each other that consists of three themes without any relative order of precedence: being in a safe, inclusive, and well informed space; meeting adults who are available, listening, and taking action; and feeling significant and being of significance to others
Summary
In order to secure a future generation of well-educated young people in good health, schools need to handle the challenge of mental ill health, which is a growing problem in children and youth in a wide variety of regions and countries (WHO 2018a). The Public Health Agency of Sweden suggests that a positive learning environment in school might be the most effective intervention to promote mental well-being and to prevent mental ill health in children and young people. The organization communicates the seven principles of health promotion: empowering, participatory, holistic, intersectoral, equitable, sustainable, and multi-strategy (WHO 1998)
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