Abstract
BackgroundSecondary schools in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) provide health promotion, preventive, and early intervention services. Nevertheless, literature indicates that the modules of these services are either adapted or modified from existing mental health programs in developed countries. The literature also highlights the provision of non-comprehensive services (mental health promotion, prevention, and early intervention), in LMICs. These findings inform the need for undertaking this systematic literature review. The aim of this review was thus to identify the modules of school-based mental health programs (SBMHP) that have been implemented in LMICs to guide the development of a culturally sensitive comprehensive mental health program for adolescents in a LMIC country.MethodsThe Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement was used to guide this review. The following databases were searched in September 2018, to identify the relevant literature: PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and ERIC. The search was conducted by the first author and reviewed by the authors.ResultsFollowing the screening process, a total of 11 papers were identified and reviewed for quality. The systematic review highlighted that the mental health programs provided in schools included: an introduction module, a communication and relationship module, a psychoeducation module, a cognitive skills module, a behavioral skills module, establishing social networks for recovery and help seeking behavioral activities and a summary/conclusion module.ConclusionThis review sheds light on the characteristics of the programs in LMICs. Two programs were found to be universal in nature. Five programs were directed at key risk factors or at-risk groups, and four were early intervention programs. The review also revealed that only one program out of the 11 programs included modules for parents. The synthesis indicated that all the identified programs were adapted or modified from existing programs. The dearth of comprehensive programs in LMICs was also revealed. Lastly, the review revealed seven modules that can be useful for developing a SBMHP.
Highlights
Secondary schools in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) provide health promotion, preventive, and early intervention services
Evidence from high-income countries (HICs) indicates that several programs have been developed and implemented to meet the mental health needs of children and adolescents [14,15,16,17,18,19,20]. While this is the case in HICs, little is known about the development of these programs in lowand middle-income countries (LMICs)
This study focused on adolescent populations of secondary schools; the exclusion criteria were studies conducted with a combination of children and adolescents, and studies undertaken in HICs
Summary
Secondary schools in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) provide health promotion, preventive, and early intervention services. Literature indicates that the modules of these services are either adapted or modified from existing mental health programs in developed countries. Evidence from high-income countries (HICs) indicates that several programs have been developed and implemented to meet the mental health needs of children and adolescents [14,15,16,17,18,19,20]. While this is the case in HICs, little is known about the development of these programs in lowand middle-income countries (LMICs). The research suggests that mental health services provided in the school settings have far-reaching benefits for students and for increasing access to services
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