Mental health literacy in children and adolescents in low- and middle-income countries: a mixed studies systematic review and narrative synthesis

Abstract

Mental illnesses are the leading cause of disease burden among children and young people (CYP) globally. Low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) are disproportionately affected. Enhancing mental health literacy (MHL) is one way to combat low levels of help-seeking and effective treatment receipt. We aimed to synthesis evidence about knowledge, beliefs and attitudes of CYP in LMICs about mental illnesses, their treatments and outcomes, evaluating factors that can enhance or impede help-seeking to inform context-specific and developmentally appropriate understandings of MHL. Eight bibliographic databases were searched from inception to July 2020: PsycInfo, EMBASE, Medline (OVID), Scopus, ASSIA (ProQuest), SSCI, SCI (Web of Science) CINAHL PLUS, Social Sciences full text (EBSCO). 58 papers (41 quantitative, 13 qualitative, 4 mixed methods) representing 52 separate studies comprising 36,429 participants with a mean age of 15.3 [10.4–17.4], were appraised and synthesized using narrative synthesis methods. Low levels of recognition and knowledge about mental health problems and illnesses, pervasive levels of stigma and low confidence in professional healthcare services, even when considered a valid treatment option were dominant themes. CYP cited the value of traditional healers and social networks for seeking help. Several important areas were under-researched including the link between specific stigma types and active help-seeking and research is needed to understand more fully the interplay between knowledge, beliefs and attitudes across varied cultural settings. Greater exploration of social networks and the value of collaboration with traditional healers is consistent with promising, yet understudied, areas of community-based MHL interventions combining education and social contact.

Biology Students' Science Literacy Level on Genetic Concepts

“…However, due to the low ability of students to read and process the information provided, students cannot determine the correct answer for each item presented. Renwick et al (2022) also expressed that reading power is a fundamental skill for uncovering various facts and information contained in readings. These skills guide accessing important essences that are applied in learning.…”

Can Sri Lankan Australians Recognise Depression? The Influence of Acculturation, Age and Experiences with Depression on Recognition

“…Ideally, the survey would have been also distributed in Sinhala and Tamil; however, this was unfeasible due to limited resources. Lastly, despite MHL’s established utility as a structure for understanding factors that influence individuals’ mental health help-seeking [ 48 , 49 ], many concerns exist regarding the concept’s ecological validity [ 20 ], vignette-based methodology [ 50 ], focus on individual diagnosis [ 48 ] and lack of acknowledgment of potential variations in the expression of mental health conditions across cultures [ 48 ]. Nonetheless, as this was the first survey investigating MHL in Sri Lankan Australians, we believed it was advantageous to employ a concept and methodology that has been used in over five hundred papers [ 20 ] including with other Sri Lankan populations [ 18 ] and Asian migrant populations in Australia [ 3 ].…”

Association of Social Support and Mental Health Literacy with Quality of Life among University Students During the Covid-19 Pandemic

“…The quality of life is reflected in the dimensions of physical and mental health as influenced by various economic, social, mental, and physical factors (Goodyear et al, 2021;Jafari et al, 2021). Observance of mental health literacy (MHL) is one of the most important strategies to reducing mental health disorders (Renwick et al, 2022). MHL refers to "knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders which aid their recognition, management or prevention" (Jorm, 2000).…”