Not hurting students’ feelings(Sisu Sitha Noridawa): The impact of a specialized training on teacher mental health literacy in central Sri Lanka

Abstract

Background Globally 10-20% of children and adolescents are suffering from mental health disorders. Improving mental health literacy (MHL) of teachers supports early detection and referral of children with mental health problems.Aim To develop and conduct a training program to improve teachers’ MHL, “Sisu Sitha Noridawa (SSN)” (not hurting students’ feelings) in central Sri Lanka (SL) and to explore the effect of the intervention on teacher MHL.Method 251 teachers participated in the study. Psychiatrist authors first facilitated small group discussions on ten case vignettes of common child psychiatry problems and then large group discussions using mini lectures and a handbook. Pre and post-tests were conducted to assess knowledge and attitudes on mental health problems of school children. The scores were analyzed using, Paired T-test in SPSS 17.Results The mean score differences of pre and posttest in both knowledge and attitude components showed statistically significant differences with p values <0.001 (confidence interval of 95%) and Cohen’s d values >0.2 in each, indicating the training had a significant positive impact on improving both the knowledge and attitude about mental health.Conclusion The training program had a significant positive impact on improving the MHL of participant teachers on common child and adolescent mental health problems. The sustainability of achieved effects and their application in classroom need exploration in a long-term study. SSN is a feasible and effective training program to be included in the existing teacher-training curriculum with in-service booster SSN programs, in a middle-income country like SL.