Mental health promotion in comprehensive schools

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to describe a participatory action research process on the development of a professional practice model of mental health nurses in mental health promotion in a comprehensive school environment in the city of Oulu, Finland. The developed model is a new method of mental health promotion for mental health nurses working in comprehensive schools. The professional practice model has been developed in workshops together with school staff, interest groups, parents and students. Information gathered from the workshops was analysed using action research methods. Mental health promotion interventions are delivered at three levels: universal, which is an intervention that affects the whole school or community; selective, which is an intervention focusing on a certain group of students; and indicated, which is an individually focused intervention. All interventions are delivered within the school setting, which is a universal setting for all school-aged children. The interventions share the goal of promoting mental health. The purposes of the interventions are enhancing protective factors, reducing risk factors relating to mental health problems and early identification of mental health problems as well as rapid delivery of support or referral to specialized services. The common effect of the interventions on all levels is the increase in the experience of positive mental health.

The effectiveness of positive mental health programs in adults: A systematic review

“…A meta‐analysis (Weiss, Westerhof, & Bohlmeijer, ) was excluded since it explored well‐being rather than positive mental health and four qualitative studies (Greacen et al, ; Onnela, Vuokila‐Oikkonen, Hurtig, & Ebeling, ; Orpana, Vachon, Dykxhoorn, Mcrae, & Jayaraman, ; Wand, ) were excluded as inclusion criteria of the review were not met. A review of the literature (Petersen, Swartz, Bhana, & Flisher, ) was also excluded, since its content did not address the subject under study and did not focus on adults.…”

Participatory action as a research method with public health nurses

“…They wanted the model to be used at multiple levels and as a tool to argue for resources and funding. PAR with nurses has been associated with increased awareness, shifts in practice and the development of leadership skills (Mackoff, Glassman, & Budin, 2013;Minthorn & Lunney, 2012;Onnela et al, 2014). It is noteworthy to mention that the original research intent shifted.…”

“…The purpose of this article was to explore and describe the value of participatory action research (PAR) in nursing practice. To the best of our knowledge, there is no literature describing PAR in developing a professional practice model with public health nurses (PHNs), although examples of PAR with nurses were found (Bish, Kenny, & Nay, 2013;Bryant-Lukosius & Dicenso, 2004;Clements, 2012;Glasson, Chang, & Bidewell, 2008;Lindsey & McGuinness, 1998;Lindsey, Sheilds, & Stajduhar, 1999;Onnela, Vuokila-Oikkonen, Hurtig, & Ebeling, 2014). It has been argued that PAR should be the method of choice to examine complex and deep rooted nursing issues (Corbett, Francis, & Chapman, 2007).…”

How can mental health nurses improve the physical health of those with mental health problems?

“…Mental Health nurses also work in a diverse range of community settings, including schools. They already engage in interventions that aim to bring about change in the social culture of schools with view to improving pupils' social capital and promoting positive mental health (Onnela, Vuokilia-Okkonen, Hurtig, & Ebeling, 2014). Synergistic positive relationships between teachers, pupils, family and friends are key to the success of these programmes.…”