Research on Mental Health Literacy: What we know and what we Still Need to know

Abstract

The term mental health literacy was first introduced in 1997 and defined as 'knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders which aid their recognition, management and prevention' [1]. The aim in coining this term was to draw attention to a neglected area. Whereas the public know a lot about other major health problems such as cancer and heart disease, they lack the same degrees of knowledge about mental disorders [2]. Since then, the term mental health literacy has come into widespread use in Australia and it has appeared as a national goal in a number of policy documents [3,4]. The concept has also spawned quite a bit of research and it is the purpose of the present paper to summarize what we have learned since 1997 and what we still need to know. The summary below draws mainly on Australian research and particularly on the series of papers published in the current issue of the journal. Although a number of researchers in other countries started up similar lines of work at around the same time [5], this is arguably an area in which Australia has had a leading role.

Mental Health Literacy: A Conceptual Framework for Future Inquiry into Child and Youth Care Professionals’ Practice with Suicidal Adolescents

“…There are significant deficits in mental health first aid skills amongst the adult population to respond to adolescents in distress (Jorm et al 2006a), a need for mental health education (Wang et al 2007), and a need for increased awareness of mental health symptoms and effective treatments (Goldney et al 2001). As the intention of this paper is to stimulate further discussion and research into the relevance of mental health literacy for CYC practice with suicidal adolescents, it is valuable to examine elements of the concept in light of current research approaches, findings, and implications for CYC professionals.…”

“…Beyond knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders, mental health literacy includes ''knowing how to seek mental health information; knowledge of risk factors and causes, of self-treatments, and of professional help available; and attitudes that promote recognition and appropriate helpseeking'' (Jorm et al p. 182). Australia has led the way in adopting the framework of mental health literacy through several initiatives, which include research, promotion, prevention, and intervention, with the objective of improving mental health literacy levels (e.g., Jorm et al 2006aKelly et al 2007). The WHO has developed an agenda for mental health care centered on enhancing mental health literacy (Mubbashar and Saeed 2000), and recently Canada created a National Integrated Framework for Enhancing Mental Health Literacy (Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health 2008).…”

Children with mental versus physical health problems: differences in perceived disease severity, health care service utilization and parental health literacy

“…Health literacy for mental health problems-aka mental health literacy [17]-has been shown to be limited in general population adults [18][19][20][21][22] and youth [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33], whereby many people fail to recognize and correctly label common psychiatric disorders and are limited in their knowledge about how to take appropriate action for themselves and others. These findings have particular relevance for caregivers of children with mental health problems.…”

Mental Health Literacy toward Schizophrenia in College Students from El Salvador and the United States of America

“…Stigma is considered a main promoter of social rejection (Acuña & Bolis, 2005;Perlick et al, 2001). MHL plays an important role in social rejection, since it is thought to reduce it, and thus, to promote help-seeking behaviors (Jorm et al, 2006). Studies of MHL of schizophrenia are of significant interest given that this disorder is one of the most stigmatized of all major mental illnesses (Angermeyer & Mastchinger, 2003;Lauber, Nordt, Falcato, & Rössler, 2004).…”