Health Literacy Of Young People Research Articles

Mechanisms of school-based peer education interventions to improve young people's health literacy or health behaviours: A realist-informed systematic review.

Peer education interventions are widely used in secondary schools with an aim to improve students' health literacy and/or health behaviours. Although peer education is a popular intervention technique with some evidence of effectiveness, we know relatively little about the key components that lead to health improvements among young people, or components that may be less helpful. This review aims to identify the main mechanisms involved in school-based peer education health interventions for 11-18-year-olds. Five electronic databases were searched for eligible studies during October 2020, an updated search was then conducted in January 2023 to incorporate any new studies published between November 2020 and January 2023. To be included in the review, studies must have evaluated a school-based peer education intervention designed to address aspects of the health of students aged 11-18 years old and contain data relevant to mechanisms of effect of these interventions. No restrictions were placed on publication date, or country but only manuscripts available in English language were included. Forty papers were identified for inclusion with a total of 116 references to intervention mechanisms which were subsequently grouped thematically into 10 key mechanisms. The four most common mechanisms discussed were: 1) Peerness; similar, relatable and credible 2) A balance between autonomy and support, 3) School values and broader change in school culture; and 4) Informal, innovative and personalised delivery methods. Mechanisms were identified in quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods intervention evaluations. This study highlights a number of key mechanisms that can be used to inform development of future school-based peer education health interventions to maximise effectiveness. Future studies should aim to create theories of change or logic models, and then test the key mechanisms, rather than relying on untested theoretical assumptions. Future work should also examine whether particular mechanisms may lead to harm, and also whether certain mechanisms are more or less important to address different health issues, or whether a set of generic mechanisms always need to be activated for success.

Does health literacy affect attitudes towards healthy eating and health anxiety in young adults?

<b>Objective:</b> The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between young people's health literacy, healthy eating attitudes, and health anxiety.<br /> <b>Material and methods:</b> The data of this cross-sectional and descriptive study were collected by face-to-face interviews with students studying in the department of nursing, nutrition and dietetics and health management at the health sciences faculty of a university located in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. The sample of the study consisted of 599 students who volunteered to participate in the study. In collecting the data of the study, Individual Descriptive Information Form, Turkish Health Literacy Scale (THLS-32), Attitudes towards Healthy Eating Scale (ASHN), Health Anxiety Inventory (Short Version) (HAI) used.<br /> <b>Results:</b> It was determined that the total mean score of the students on the THLS-32 scale was 33.57±8.41, the mean total score of ASHN was 70.57±10.87, and the mean total score of HAI was 19.67±7.43. There was a positive relationship between students' health literacy and their attitudes towards healthy eating (r=0.258, p=0.000), a negative relationship between health anxiety (r=-0.171, p=0.000) and their attitudes towards healthy eating and health anxiety (r= -0.166, p=0.000).<br /> <b>Conclusion:</b> It is important that this study is the first to examine health literacy, attitudes towards healthy eating, and health anxiety together. It is thought that improving the health literacy and healthy eating attitudes of students who will be health care professionals and reducing their health anxiety will provide significant benefits individually and socially.

Health Literacy Among Young People in Africa: Evidence Synthesis.

Health literacy has critical health implications. Health literacy in young people is a pressing matter as it determines their current and future health. Although health literacy research is increasing, there are limited health literacy studies from Africa. The aim of this study was to provide a coherent summary and synthesis of the available health literacy studies among young people in Africa. A systematic scoping review was chosen to attain the aim of this study. PubMed, CINAHL, AJOL, JBI EBP, EBSCO, and Google Scholar were searched for evidence. Based on JBI's methodology for reviews, a three-step search strategy was employed. The search was conducted up to April 20, 2022. The PRISMA flow diagram guideline was used to ensure a transparent reporting of the review process. The search for evidence identified 386 records, of which 53 were selected and their full texts were assessed for eligibility. Nine studies matched the eligibility criteria. The main findings of the eligible studies are: health literacy levels, association between health literacy and health outcomes, and predictors of health literacy among young people. Low health literacy was common among young people, and there was a significant association between low health literacy and negative health outcomes among this group. Health literacy among young people was impacted by a wide range of socio-demographic factors. Health literacy studies among young people in Africa were rare. Although the reviewed studies shed some light on health literacy levels, the association between health literacy and health outcomes, and the predictors of health literacy among young people, they may not give an accurate picture of health literacy among young people, for several reasons. Both primary and secondary health literacy studies are needed to fully understand the issue, and to develop and guide policies and interventions in Africa.

Developing the HLS19-YP12 for measuring health literacy in young people: a latent trait analysis using Rasch modelling and confirmatory factor analysis

BackgroundAccurate and precise measures of health literacy (HL) is supportive for health policy making, tailoring health service design, and ensuring equitable access to health services. According to research, valid and reliable unidimensional HL measurement instruments explicitly targeted at young people (YP) are scarce. Thus, this study aims at assessing the psychometric properties of existing unidimensional instruments and developing an HL instrument suitable for YP aged 16–25 years.MethodsApplying the HLS19-Q47 in computer-assisted telephone interviews, we collected data in a representative sample comprising 890 YP aged 16–25 years in Norway. Applying the partial credit parameterization of the unidimensional Rasch model for polytomous data (PCM) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with categorical variables, we evaluated the psychometric properties of the short versions of the HLS19-Q47; HLS19-Q12, HLS19-SF12, and HLS19-Q12-NO. A new 12-item short version for measuring HL in YP, HLS19-YP12, is suggested.ResultsThe HLS19-Q12 did not display sufficient fit to the PCM, and the HLS19-SF12 was not sufficiently unidimensional. Relative to the PCM, some items in the HLS19-Q12, the HLS19-SF12, and the HLS19-Q12-NO discriminated poorly between participants at high and at low locations on the underlying latent trait. We observed disordered response categories for some items in the HLS19-Q12 and the HLS19-SF12. A few items in the HLS19-Q12, the HLS19-SF12, and the HLS19-Q12-NO displayed either uniform or non-uniform differential item functioning. Applying one-factorial CFA, none of the aforementioned short versions achieved exact fit in terms of non-significant model chi-square statistic, or approximate fit in terms of SRMR ≤ .080 and all entries ≤ .10 that were observed in the respective residual matrix. The newly suggested parsimonious 12-item scale, HLS19-YP12, displayed sufficiently fit to the PCM and achieved approximate fit using one-factorial CFA.ConclusionsCompared to other parsimonious 12-item short versions of HLS19-Q47, the HLS19-YP12 has superior psychometric properties and unconditionally proved its unidimensionality. The HLS19-YP12 offers an efficient and much-needed screening tool for use among YP, which is likely a useful application in processes towards the development and evaluation of health policy and public health work, as well as for use in clinical settings.

The imperative to develop health literacy: An ethical evaluation of HealthLit4Kids.

An imperative exists to promote health literacy (HL) development in today's young people. Included in curricula worldwide, health literacy has been recognised as a social determinant in its own right, which has the potential to redress inequity and positively impact health and educational outcomes. While it has been shown that schools provide an ideal setting to support HL development, available evidence suggests that health may be undertaught in primary schools, and further resources are required to support educators' inclusion of HL in their lessons. The aims of this paper were to (1) highlight the ethical imperative to promote HL through schools and (2) provide an ethical evaluation of an existing HL intervention. Spike's (2018) four principles for public health ethics were employed as a framework for evaluating a program's ethical status and suitability in the school setting. In this paper, one program, HealthLit4Kids, is evaluated according to Spike's framework, and shown to be an ethically acceptable approach to foster HL in young people. These results model how other HL programs may be evaluated and offer critical insights concerning how HL could be promoted in an ethically acceptable manner in the classroom.

What's Up With Everyone? A qualitative study on young people's perceptions of cocreated online animations to promote mental health literacy.

IntroductionAdolescence and young adulthood are especially critical times to learn about mental health, given that 75% of mental health issues are developed by the age of 24. Animations have great potential to effectively deliver mental health information to young people. A series of five short animated films to promote mental health literacy were created with and for young people in partnership with the multi‐award‐winning independent animation studio, Aardman Animations. The aim of this study was to explore young people's perceptions of the cocreated animated films.MethodsSeven Youth Juries were conducted to capture young people's opinions and recommendations about the content related to mental health literacy and presentation style of the cocreated animated films. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the audio transcripts.ResultsMany participants reported a view that the animated films had the potential to promote mental health literacy, especially for understanding mental health and reducing stigma. Some recommendations were provided to improve the films, such as including subtitles and having a better transition to the companion website.ConclusionCocreated animations have great potential to promote the mental health literacy of young people. We hope that the findings from the present study will inform future media development to make them as effective as possible.Patient or Public ContributionYoung people were actively involved in the development, production, implementation and evaluation (up to the time before data analysis) of the animated films.

'It's my back…'; developing the coming to spinal clinic resource to improve the health literacy of young people with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and their parents.

This study focussed on identifying the key concerns and information needs of young people with Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS) and their parents and examined what resources might help improve young people's 'participativeness' and health literacy during clinic consultations. A qualitative participatory design underpinned the study. Workshops involving multiple methods were used to engage with young people with AIS and their parents, who were recruited through a regional children's hospital. The study design was informed by patient and public consultation with eight young people and two parents. 10 young people (aged 14-16years) and 11 of their parents participated in the study. Young people and their parents reported uncertainty and anxiety before coming to clinic and faced issues participating in the consultation, being involved in decision-making and understanding the information and language. These challenges resulted in unmet information needs. Young people's health literacy relating to an AIS diagnosis and treatment is facilitated by them being prepared and informed before coming to clinic and be actively supported to be involved during the consultation. We collaboratively developed the 'Coming to Spinal Clinic' resource to help young people with AIS and parents prepare for and get the most out of their visit.

Health Information Needs of Young Chinese People Based on an Online Health Community: Topic and Statistical Analysis.

BackgroundThe internet has been widely accessible and well accepted by young people; however, there is a limited understanding of the internet usage patterns and characteristics on issues related to health problems. The contents posted on online health communities (OHCs) are valuable resources to learn about youth's health information needs.ObjectiveIn this study, we concurrently exploited statistical analysis and topic analysis of online health information needs to explore the distribution, impact factors, and topics of interest relevant to Chinese young people.MethodsWe collected 60,478 health-related data sets posted by young people from a well-known Chinese OHC named xywy.com. Descriptive statistical analysis and correlation analysis were applied to find the distribution and influence factors of the information needs of Chinese young people. Furthermore, a general 4-step topic mining strategy was presented for sparse short texts, which included sentence vectorization, dimension reduction, clustering, and keyword generation.ResultsIn the Chinese OHC, Chinese young people had a high demand for information in the areas of gynecology and obstetrics, internal medicine, dermatology, plastic surgery, and surgery, and they focused on topics such as treatment, symptoms, causes, pathology, and diet. Females accounted for 69.67% (42,136/60,478) and young adults accounted for 87.44% (52,882/60,478) of all data. Gender, age, and disease type all had a significant effect on young people's information needs and topic preferences (P<.001).ConclusionsWe conducted comprehensive analyses to discover the online health information needs of Chinese young people. The research findings are of great practical value to carry out health education and health knowledge dissemination inside and outside of schools according to the interests of youth, enable the innovation of information services in OHCs, and improve the health literacy of young people.

Development and application of a tool to measure hearing health literacy of young people in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

A reliable and valid tool to assess hearing health literacy in Iranian young people is lacking. This study aimed to develop a tool to assess the hearing health literacy of young people in the Islamic Republic of Iran and to use the tool to determine the hearing health literacy of a sample of Iranians aged 12-25 years. A questionnaire was designed with three skill sections: obtaining health information, evaluating this information and applying it to benefit health. The validity and reliability of the tool were determined. Cluster sampling was used to select 50 urban clusters across the country from which 5000 Iranians aged between 12-25 years old were selected to complete the questionnaire. The final questionnaire had 22 items with scores ranging from 22 to 44. The Cronbach alpha was 0.65, and content validity ratio and index were 0.92 and 0.82, respectively. Of the 5000 questionnaires completed, 4890 were included in the analysis. The mean (standard deviation (SD)) age of the participants was 17 (SD 3) years and 45.9% were males. The mean score on the tool was 30.81 (SD 3.75), indicating inadequate health literacy (score 22-36). Only 137 (2.8%) participants had adequate health literacy (score 37-44). Statistically significant differences in mean hearing health literacy were seen for sex, age, years of education, occupation, marital status and income (P < 0.05). Given the low level of hearing health literacy in Iranian young people, programmes to improve the ear and hearing health literacy are urgently needed.

Promoting mental health literacy in schools

Abstract Background Adolescence is the most suitable time for health promotion and prevention programs regarding mental illness to start. Given that, about half of the mental illnesses will develop by the age of 14, addressing this issue early in the life course is a particular public health goal in Europe. Mental health literacy is considered a key determinant of good mental health, as it comprises adequate knowledge positive attitudes towards mental health and help-seeking behavior. School-based interventions aimed at increasing mental health literacy are a promising method to reach most young people, at least in countries were school attendance is mandatory. The goal of our project is to evaluate a mental health school program, adapted from a Curriculum originating in Canada, in regard to its ability to increase the mental health literacy of adolescents and young adults within the German school setting. Methods Data is currently being collected within the school setting from adolescents and young adults attending regular secondary schools and vocational schools in Germany at three different time points: (T0) before the intervention, (T1) afterwards and (T2) 2-3 months later. A control group will be questioned as well. Data collection takes place between February and December 2020. Results Till October 2020 a sample size of about 200 to 400 participants will be reached. It is expected that the intervention group will have a significantly higher increase in mental health literacy, more positive attitudes towards help-seeking and a decrease in stigmatizing attitudes towards mental illness compared to the control group. Conclusions It is expected that, the mental health Curriculum will show to be an effective way of promoting the mental health literacy of young people attending different school forms in Germany. A national wide implementation might be a promising public health measure for fostering good mental health and mental health literacy in adolescents and young people.

Development and Psychometric Properties of a Questionnaire Assessing Self-Reported Generic Health Literacy in Adolescence.

Health literacy is a promising approach to promoting health and preventing disease among children and adolescents. Promoting health literacy in early stages of life could contribute to reducing health inequalities. However, it is difficult to identify concrete needs for action as there are few age-adjusted measures to assess generic health literacy in young people. Our aim was to develop a multidimensional measure of health literacy in German to assess generic health literacy among 14- to 17-year-old adolescents, namely, the “Measurement of Health Literacy Among Adolescents Questionnaire” (MOHLAA-Q). The development process included two stages. Stage 1 comprised the development and validation using a literature review, two rounds of cognitive interviews, two focus groups and two rounds of expert assessments by health literacy experts. Stage 2 included a standard pretest (n = 625) of the questionnaire draft to examine the psychometric properties, reliability and different validity aspects. The MOHLAA-Q consists of 29 items in four scales: (A) “Dealing with health-related information (HLS-EU-Q12-adolescents-DE)”; (B) “Communication and interaction skills”, (C) “Attitudes toward one’s own health and health information”, and (D) “Health-related knowledge”. The confirmatory factor analysis indicated a multidimensional structure of the MOHLAA-Q. The internal consistency coefficients (Cronbach’s α) of the scales varied from 0.54 to 0.77. The development of the MOHLAA-Q constitutes a significant step towards the comprehensive measurement of adolescents’ health literacy. However, further research is necessary to re-examine its structural validity and to improve the internal consistency of two scales.

The psychosocial impacts of cybervictimisation and barriers to seeking social support: Young people’s perspectives

The negative impact of cyberbullying on the mental health of victims is well established. However, qualitative research related to the mental health impacts of cybervictimisation and how these are experienced by young people is scarce. In particular, little is known about young people’s perceptions of the association between cyberbullying and suicidal behaviours. This paper reports findings on the mental health impacts of cyberbullying, and barriers to seeking social support, from eleven focus groups with 64 young people aged fourteen to seventeen (53% female), across four secondary schools. Thematic analysis identified two central themes: The Psychological Nature of Cyberbullying (sub-themes include Trapped by the Omni-Presence of Cyber Technology; Negative Overthinking; The Impacts of Negative Overthinking on Young People’s Lives; and Suicide as a Means of Escape) and Barriers to Help-Seeking (including sub-themes Needing Help Regarded as Sign of Weakness; Young People Unable to Identify and Express Feelings; Lack of Confidence in Parents Ability to Provide Support; and Inappropriate School Intervention). Cyberbullying was described as more psychological in nature and impact than traditional bullying with increased deleterious effect on the mental health and wellbeing of victims. Victims experience rumination and worry fuelled by the omni-present, pervasive, and permanent nature of cyber interactions. Young people’s inability to seek support maintains and exacerbates victims’ distress. Participants perceived suicide as a viable escape route for young victims defeated and entrapped by cybervictimisation and their own negative thoughts. Interventions should address emotional competence and mental health literacy in young people, as well as empowering support networks including parents, peers, and school personnel, to foster an environment that promotes help-seeking.

The physical health of young people experiencing first-episode psychosis: Mental health consumers' experiences.

Young people experiencing first-episode psychosis taking antipsychotic medications often develop comorbidities such as obesity and cardiometabolic abnormalities at an earlier age than young people in the general population. Therefore, it is important to explore the healthcare needs and experiences of this group of consumers. This paper reports research conducted to obtain an informed understanding of young people's health literacy, physical healthcare needs, and interest and knowledge about their physical health. Grounded theory methodology was used to guide the research. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 24 young consumers aged between 18 and 35years who were case managed by one metropolitan community mental health service. The results describe the journey of young people from the time of diagnosis, to when they developed an awareness of the need to improve their physical health and the impact of physical health issues on their overall health and well-being. Six categories emerged from the data: (i) initial responses when diagnosed with first-episode psychosis; (ii) focus of care on treating first-episode psychosis; (iii) lack of education on antipsychotic medications; (iv) adverse effects from taking antipsychotic medication; (v) increased awareness of the need for good physical health; and 6) importance of social support in the community. The findings highlight the importance for health professionals improving young people's health literacy and addressing physical health and well-being as part of first-episode psychosis programmes. Young people require improved health education on the importance of maintaining healthy lifestyle in relation to their overall health and well-being.

Mental Health Literacy in Young Adults: Adaptation and Psychometric Properties of the Mental Health Literacy Questionnaire.

Mental health literacy (MHL) is considered a prerequisite for early recognition and intervention in mental disorders, and for this reason, it has become a focus of research over the past few decades. Assessing this construct is relevant for identifying knowledge gaps and erroneous beliefs concerning mental health issues, to inform the development of interventions aimed at promoting mental health literacy as well as the evaluation of these interventions. Recently, we developed a new self-reporting measure (MHLq) for assessing mental health literacy in young people (12–14 years-old), meeting the need to assess MHL from a comprehensive perspective of the construct instead of focusing on a restricted number of mental disorders or specific dimensions (e.g., knowledge concerning specific disorders; stigma). The present study aimed to adapt the MHLq for the young adult population and to examine its psychometric properties, according to the following steps: (1) item adaptation, using a think aloud procedure (n = 5); (2) data collection (n = 356, aged between 18 and 25 years old; and (3) psychometric analyses (exploratory factor analysis and internal consistency analysis). The final version of the questionnaire included 29 items (total scale α = 0.84), organized by four dimensions: (1) knowledge of mental health problems (α = 0.74); (2) erroneous beliefs/stereotypes (α = 0.72); (3) help-seeking and first aid skills (α = 0.71); and (4) self-help strategies (α = 0.60). The results suggest that the MHLq-adult form is a practical, valid, and reliable screening tool for identifying gaps in knowledge, beliefs, and behavioral intentions related to mental health and mental disorders, planning promotion programs, and evaluating intervention effectiveness.

Mental health literacy: what do Nigerian adolescents know about depression?

BackgroundDepression is a leading cause of disability and has been projected to become the 2nd most burdensome disease by the year 2020; depression has also been found to be the strongest single risk factor for attempted or completed suicides. Adolescent-onset mood disorders are frequently unrecognized or misdiagnosed and often go untreated. While there is a growing literature on the mental health literacy of adults, there has not been a parallel interest in the mental health literacy of young people in Nigeria.MethodsThe study was a cross-sectional descriptive survey conducted among students of a Federal Government College (high school) in south-east Nigeria. All consenting students in the senior secondary classes (grades 10–12) were recruited, making a total of 285 participants. The participants were presented with the ‘friend in need’ questionnaire designed to elicit the participants’ recognition of the disorder depicted in two vignettes and their recommendation about the appropriate source of help-seeking. One vignette was of a clinically depressed case while the other vignette was about a girl undergoing normal life crisis.ResultsOut of the 285 students recruited into the study, 277 questionnaires were adequately completed indicating a response rate of 97.2%. A total of 4.8% (n = 13) participants correctly identified and labelled the depression vignette. Only four respondents (1.5%) recommended professional help from a Psychiatrist or Psychologist. Insomnia was the most identified symptom of distress for depression (17.1%). Females demonstrated higher mental health literacy, in terms of their ability to correctly label the depression vignettes, their expression of greater concern over a depressed peer than males, their expectation that depression requires a longer recovery than normal teenage problems and in their ability to identify individual symptoms of depression. Family and friends were the most recommended source of help.ConclusionMental health literacy was abysmally low amongst the adolescents surveyed. There’s an urgent need to increase mental health awareness in Nigeria.

Co-creating and Evaluating a Web-app Mapping Real-World Health Care Services for Students: The servi-Share Protocol

BackgroundUniversity students aged 18-30 years are a population group reporting low access to health care services, with high rates of avoidance and delay of medical care. This group also reports not having appropriate information about available health care services. However, university students are at risk for several health problems, and regular medical consultations are recommended in this period of life. New digital devices are popular among the young, and Web-apps can be used to facilitate easy access to information regarding health care services. A small number of electronic health (eHealth) tools have been developed with the purpose of displaying real-world health care services, and little is known about how such eHealth tools can improve access to care.ObjectiveThis paper describes the processes of co-creating and evaluating the beta version of a Web-app aimed at mapping and describing free or low-cost real-world health care services available in the Bordeaux area of France, which is specifically targeted to university students.MethodsThe co-creation process involves: (1) exploring the needs of students to know and access real-world health care services; (2) identifying the real-world health care services of interest for students; and (3) deciding on a user interface, and developing the beta version of the Web-app. Finally, the evaluation process involves: (1) testing the beta version of the Web-app with the target audience (university students aged 18-30 years); (2) collecting their feedback via a satisfaction survey; and (3) planning a long-term evaluation.ResultsThe co-creation process of the beta version of the Web-app was completed in August 2016 and is described in this paper. The evaluation process started on September 7, 2016. The project was completed in December 2016 and implementation of the Web-app is ongoing.ConclusionsWeb-apps are an innovative way to increase the health literacy of young people in terms of delivery of and access to health care. The creation of Web-apps benefits from the involvement of stakeholders (eg, students and health care providers) to correctly identify the real-world health care services to be displayed.

The power of appreciation: promoting schoolchildren’s health literacy

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore Swedish children’s positive experiences of health and well-being, and their thoughts on how health literacy can be promoted. Design/methodology/approach Totally, 121 schoolchildren between the ages of 10 and 14 from three schools in two municipalities in the northern part of Sweden shared their lived experiences through individual written reflections. Findings The phenomenological analysis resulted in one theme, appreciation as fuel for health and well-being, and four sub-themes: feeling a sense of belonging; being cared for by others; being respected and listened to; and feeling valued and confirmed. The understanding of the schoolchildren’s experiences of health and well-being and their thoughts on how health literacy can be promoted revealed that appreciation in different forms is the key dimension of their experiences of health and well-being. Practical implications The findings of this study point to the necessity of promoting health education that includes reflection and action-awareness of one’s own and others’ health as well as the competence to know how and when to improve their health. Such health education can contribute to the development of health literacy in young people, an essential skill for the twenty-first century. Originality/value This study’s originality is that the authors added the concepts of appreciative inquiry and student voice to the study of health literacy with children.

Promoting health literacy in secondary schools: A review

Schools provide a key platform for promoting health literacy in young people. Despite a long history of initiatives to create health promoting schools, and extensive literature on the construct of health literacy, there is much less research on using the school nursing workforce to promote health literacy, particularly in the English school context. In this paper we review the relevant literature and distil key messages. The school nursing workforce is small, and needs to work in partnership with other agencies. While there are clear opportunities there are also constraints on what can be achieved. As well as providing basic health information, for real health literacy to develop young people need to learn skills and become empowered to take action. More research is needed to establish how school nurses can contribute to this in the broader context of health promoting schools.

Sustained improvements in students' mental health literacy with use of a mental health curriculum in Canadian schools.

BackgroundEnhancement of mental health literacy for youth is a focus of increasing interest for mental health professionals and educators alike. Schools are an ideal site for addressing mental health literacy in young people. Currently, there is limited evidence regarding the impact of curriculum-based interventions within high school settings. We examined the effect of a high-school mental health curriculum (The Guide) in enhancing mental health literacy in Canadian schools.MethodsWe conducted a secondary analysis on surveys of students who participated in a classroom mental health course taught by their usual teachers. Evaluation of students’ mental health literacy (knowledge/attitudes) was completed before and after classroom implementation and at 2-month follow-up. We used paired-samples t-tests and Cohen’s d value to determine the significance and impact of change.ResultsThere were 265 students who completed all surveys. Students’ knowledge significantly improved between pre- and post-tests (p < 0.001; d = 0.90) and was maintained at follow-up (p < 0.001; d = 0.73). Similarly, attitude significantly improved between pre- and post-tests (p < 0.001; d = 0.25) and was significantly higher at follow-up than base-line (p < 0.007; d = 0.18)ConclusionsThe Guide, applied by usual teachers in usual classroom curriculum, may help improve student knowledge and attitudes regarding mental health. This is the first study to demonstrate the positive impact of a curriculum-based mental health literacy program in a Canadian high school population.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12888-014-0379-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Improving Eating Disorders Mental Health Literacy: A Preliminary Evaluation of the “Should I Say Something?” Workshop

A repeated measures, uncontrolled, preliminary evaluation of a single 3-hour workshop—“Should I Say Something?”—aimed at improving eating disorders mental health literacy, was conducted in a sample of 177 university undergraduates. Following participation in the workshop, significant increases in eating disorder recognition and knowledge, and significant decreases in stigmatizing attitudes, were reported by participants. Moreover, 85% of participants reported that they provided assistance to someone whom they suspected had a mental health condition, including an eating disorder, during the 3-month follow-up period. This study provides preliminary evidence that “Should I Say Something?” may be effective in improving the mental health literacy of young people.