scholarly journals The Nepal earthquake: use of a disaster to improve mental health literacy

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. R. Shakya
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Mental Disorder ◽  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Mental Health Literacy ◽  
Psychosocial Interventions ◽  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Awareness

People were not well prepared for the psychological aftermath of the earthquake in Nepal in April 2015. A higher rate of mental disorder was noted in the ensuing months and there was a need to develop psychosocial interventions, especially for those with poor mental health literacy. Acceptable, affordable and accessible mental health awareness programmes were required. Through examples of strategies adopted by the author, this article asserts that the aftermath of natural disasters can give mental health professionals opportunities to improve mental health literacy.

scholarly journals Public recognition of mental disorders and beliefs about treatment: changes in Australia over 16 years

2012 ◽  
Vol 200 (5) ◽  
pp. 419-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola J. Reavley ◽  
Anthony F. Jorm
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
National Survey ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Mental Health Literacy ◽  
Public Recognition ◽  
Similar Survey ◽  
Treatment Changes

BackgroundA 1995 Australian national survey of mental health literacy showed poor recognition of disorders and beliefs about treatment that differed from those of health professionals. A similar survey carried out in 2003/4 showed some improvements over 8 years.AimsTo investigate whether recognition of mental disorders and beliefs about treatment have changed over a 16-year period.MethodA national survey of 6019 adults was carried out in 2011 using the same questions as the 1995 and 2003/4 surveys.ResultsResults showed improved recognition of depression and more positive ratings for a range of interventions, including help from mental health professionals and antidepressants.ConclusionsAlthough beliefs about effective medications and interventions have moved closer to those of health professionals since the previous surveys, there is still potential for mental health literacy gains in the areas of recognition and treatment beliefs for mental disorders. This is particularly the case for schizophrenia.

A Comparative Mental Health Literacy Survey of Psychiatrists and Other Mental Health Professionals in Singapore

2000 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 627-636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon Parker ◽  
Helen Chen ◽  
Joshua Kua ◽  
Jennifer Loh ◽  
Anthony F. Jorm
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Mental Health Literacy ◽  
Hospital Staff ◽  
Traditional Healers ◽  
Specific Response ◽  
Similar Response ◽  
Response Options

Objective: The objectives of this study are, first, to replicate and extend an Australian approach to assessing mental health literacy by studying a sample of Singapore mental health professionals, and to focus on differences between judgements made by the psychiatrists in comparison with the other mental health professionals. Second, to compare the psychiatrists' judgements with those of Australian psychiatrists. Method: The Australian questionnaire, assessing responses in relation to vignettes of major depression and to schizophrenia was extended by adding a third vignette of mania, and by the addition of several region-specific response options. Nearly 500 questionnaires were distributed to representative staff (psychiatrists, nurses and allied health) of a large psychiatric institution in Singapore, with a response rate of 81%. Psychiatrists' judgements were compared with all other hospital staff, and with Australian psychiatrists' judgements. Results: The two principal contrast groups (Singapore psychiatrists and other Singapore mental health professionals) differed slightly in terms of diagnostic accuracy. The psychiatrists differed in favouring a more professionally focused model of intervention, while both professional groups viewed traditional healers and their practices as distinctly unhelpful. Direct comparison of psychiatrist ratings generated in Singapore and in Australia revealed quite similar response profiles. Conclusions: In addition to generating data of some intrinsic importance, comparison with Australian survey data allows the potential impact of regional and cultural differences, as well as of varying psychiatric practices, to be identified. Responses identified more similarities than differences in the judgements of the psychiatrists from the two countries.

scholarly journals Mental Health Awareness Phone Polling Survey: Focus on Community Knowledge, Attitude and Practice, Saudi Arabia

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Abdulhameed Abdullah Alhabeeb ◽  
Saed Salem Alasmari ◽  
Rashid Abdullah Alduraihem ◽  
Naseem Akhtar Qureshi
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Mental Health Literacy ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Arabic Language ◽  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
Health Awareness ◽  
Mental Health Awareness

Background: Mental health awareness surveys that assess the broad knowledge of various stakeholders including public nationwide help in the development of relevant strategies to enhance their poor mental health literacy. Objective: The aim of this telephone polling survey was to measure mental health awareness of general public in Saudi Arabia. Method: The participants (n=1068) randomly selected from 13 regions of Saudi Arabia were contacted by 15 trained Saudi girl interviewers for conducting 30-minutes individual interview in Arabic language using a self-designed 15-item questionnaire. Results: About one fourth of responders (23%) reported either personal or family member having mental disorder, and depression and anxiety disorders were the commonest problems. Stigma against mental disorders and consulting health professionals, misperceptions towards psychotropics and social exclusion and shame were variably reported by the participants. Though the participants perceived barriers to have access to MH services, 55% of responders reported MH services were of good to excellent grade, and the two most common help-seeking modes were psychiatric and religious and spiritual service providers. Conclusion: Although this community participatory mental health polling survey is found to have encouraging mental health literacy of public participants, evidence based training programs and campaigns for further improving people mental health literacy are needed in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Arabian Gulf countries.

scholarly journals Mental health literacy at the public health level in low and middle income countries: An exploratory mixed methods study in Vietnam

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. e0244573
Author(s):  
Hoang-Minh Dang ◽  
Trung T. Lam ◽  
Anh Dao ◽  
Bahr Weiss
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Mental Health Literacy ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
The Public ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Health Level

Purpose Mental health literacy (MHL) is key for mental health development, particularly in low-and-middle-income countries (LMIC) where mental health resources are limited. MHL development can be thought of as occurring at two levels: the individual person level (via direct contact, with specifically-targeted individuals), and the public health level (via indirect contact through public media, targeting the general public). Each approach has advantages and disadvantages. Methods The present mixed methods study assessed the status of and best approaches for development of mental health literacy in the Southeast Asian LMIC Vietnam. Because there has been relatively little discussion of MHL development at the public health level, this assessment focused on the public health level, although not exclusively. Because mental health professionals generally have the most in-depth understanding of their mental health system, study participants were 82 Vietnamese mental health professionals who completed a quantitative survey, with 48 participating in focus groups. Results Most of the professionals viewed MHL in Vietnam as low or very low, and that it was difficult or very difficult for the general public to find effective mental health services. Main barriers underlying these problems and more generally for developing MHL in Vietnam identified in the focus groups were: (a) misinformation in the media regarding mental health and mental illness; (b) lack of licensure for non-medical mental health professionals (e.g., psychologists; social workers); (c) lack of interest in mental health from upper-level leadership. Conclusions To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study assessing professionals’ perceptions regarding mental health literacy at both the public health and individual-person levels. Although sampling was restricted to Vietnamese professionals, results may provide initial preliminary guidance for other LMIC considering mental health literacy development at multiple levels.

scholarly journals Development and validation of the Espaijove.net mental health literacy (EMHL) test for Spanish adolescents

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pere Castellvi ◽  
Rocio Casanas ◽  
Victoria-Mailen Arfuch ◽  
Juan-José Gil Moreno ◽  
María Torres Torres ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Internal Consistency ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Mental Health Literacy ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
Cronbach’S Alpha ◽  
Cronbach's Alpha ◽  
Mental Health Knowledge ◽  
Different Levels

Abstract Background There is evidence of the effectiveness of implementing Mental Health Literacy (MHL) programs in improving mental health knowledge and reducing the stigma. However, there are substantial limitations in the instruments of measurement of mental health literacy. This study aimed to develop and validate the EspaiJove.net MHL test (EMHL) for Spanish adolescents assessing its psychometric properties.Methods The development of the EMHL as a maximum performance test was conducted using item pool generation and pilot study. Content generation was assessed according item relevance by mental health professionals’ and comprehensive and non-offensiveness by adolescents’ focus groups. A convenience sample of high school students aged 13-15y (n=355) participated in the validity study. Reliability was assessed with internal consistency and test-retest. Convergent validity was evaluated comparing effect size among known groups with different levels of mental health knowledge, correlation with mental health-related instruments, and item discrimination index.Results A final version of 35-item EMHL test was obtained with two parts: (i) 1st part consist of binary choice format (yes/no) for the identification of mental disorders; (ii) The part 2 has multiple choice questions with four possible answer options based on the thematic contents of the EspaiJove.net program. Internal consistency was acceptable in the 1st part (Cronbach’s alpha=0.744; Guttman’s lambda 2=0.773) and almost acceptable in the 2nd part (Cronbach’s alpha=0.615; Guttman’s lambda 2=0.643). The test-retest evaluation supported the stability of the test (1st part, ICC= 0.578; 2nd part, ICC= 0.422), no ceiling and floor effects were found. The EMHL test scores discriminated known groups with different levels of mental health knowledge, it is associated with a reduction of related-stigma, emotional symptoms, conduct problems and bullying behaviours and anxiety/depression and self-care quality of life (p<0.05), and it shows a strong discrimination index in almost all items (D≥0.40).Conclusions The EMHL test is a relevant measure for mental health prevention and promotion adapted to Spanish context taking into account the opinion of adolescents, using a non-offensive and adolescent-adapted vocabulary with acceptable validity and stability for assessing MHL levels in adolescents.

scholarly journals Examining mental health literacy, help-seeking behaviours, distress, and wellbeing in UK coaches

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 713-726 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Gorczynski ◽  
Kass Gibson ◽  
Nathan Clarke ◽  
Tyrone Mensah ◽  
Rory Summers
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Mental Disorder ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Mental Health Literacy ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Previous Diagnosis ◽  
Help Seeking Behaviour

Although research has explored stress in coaches, little is known about their mental health literacy and how this is associated with their mental health. Their mental health literacy may have an impact on the wellbeing of their young players. This study examined levels of mental health literacy, help-seeking behaviours, distress, and wellbeing, as well as relationships amongst these variables, in coaches in the United Kingdom. Coaches were recruited through social media and asked to fill out questionnaires. A total of 103 coaches ( n = 65 men, n = 37 women, n = 1 other gender) participated in the study. Coaches had an average age of 27.9 (SD = 10.6) years. Most self-identified as heterosexual ( n = 85, 82.5%), had four or more years of experience ( n = 46, 44.7%), coached children ( n = 77, 74.8%), and coached at either the beginner ( n = 30, 29.1%) or amateur levels ( n = 66, 64.1%). In total, 20 (19.4%) coaches indicated a previous diagnosis of a mental disorder. A total of 51 (49.5%) coaches indicated that, at the time of the completion of the survey, they exhibited symptoms of a mental disorder. Overall, the average mental health literacy score was 123.10 and lower than in previous studies. Mental health literacy was not significantly associated with help-seeking behaviour, distress, or wellbeing. General help-seeking behaviour was positively correlated with wellbeing. The results suggest that coach certification programmes could adopt strategies to help coaches improve their knowledge of mental health services and how such services may be accessed. These changes may improve the wellbeing of coaches and may benefit their athletes.

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