A systematic review of universal approaches to mental health promotion in schools

Delivering health education: the contribution of social and emotional learning

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to outline the contribution of school‐based programmes of social and emotional learning (SEL) to health education, and outline a recent initiative by the English government, “Secondary SEAL”.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents evidence for the impact of SEL programmes, and accounts the key principles of the English SEAL programme.

Findings

The paper finds that SEL programmes impact on learning, behaviour, emotional and social wellbeing and physical health, provided that they follow certain key principles.

Originality/value

The paper shows, that for the first time, the English Secondary SEAL programme has been outlined in an international journal.

The FRIENDS Emotional Health Programme: Initial Findings from a School-Based Project

Emotional disorders in children are common and although effective interventions are available comparatively few receive specialist help. School nurses were trained to deliver an evidence-based emotional health cognitive behaviour therapy programme, FRIENDS, to 106 non-referred children aged 9-10 attending three schools. Levels of anxiety and self-esteem were stable in the 6-month period before FRIENDS. Three months after completing FRIENDS, anxiety had significantly decreased and self-esteem increased. Children with the most severe emotional problems benefited from the programme. The value of delivering standardised evidence based programmes in schools by school nurses is discussed and the need for further research highlighted.

Gender Differences and Mental Health: An Exploratory Study of Knowledge and Attitudes to Mental Health Among Scottish Teenagers

METHOD

  A cross-sectional survey of 496 teenagers was conducted in order to explore their knowledge and attitude towards mental health and people with mental health problems.

RESULTS

  Boys reported lower levels of knowledge and different sources of stress than girls. Negative attitudes were more common among boys than girls. Boys were less likely to think that an understanding of mental health was important, less likely to want to know more about mental health issues and twice as likely to think that they had already been given enough education.

CONCLUSION

  Gender specific educational interventions may be more appropriate and effective than whole school approaches.

Development of a collaborative model to improve school health promotion in The Netherlands

In recent decades, school health promotion programs have been developing into whole-school health approaches. This has been accompanied by a greater understanding among health promoters of the core-business of schools, namely education, and how health promotion objectives can be integrated into this task. Evidence of the positive impact of school health promotion on health risk behavior of students is increasing. This article focuses on the processes and initial results of developing a collaborative model tailored for whole-school health in the Netherlands, named schoolBeat. The Dutch situation is characterized by fragmentation, a variety of health and welfare groups supporting schools, and a lack of sound integrated youth policies. A literature review, observations, and stakeholder consultation provided a clear picture of the current situation in school health promotion, and factors limiting a comprehensive and needs-based approach to school health. This revealed that a health promotion team within a school is fundamental to an effective approach to tailored school health promotion. A respected member of school staff should chair this team. To strengthen the link with the school care team, the school care coordinator should be a member of both teams. To provide coordinated support to all schools in a region, participating organizations decided to share advisory tasks. These tasks are included in the regular health promotion work of their staff. This means working with one advisor representing all school-health organizations per school, and using a comprehensive overview of possible support and projects promoting health. Empowering schools in needs assessments and comprehensive school health promotion is an important element of the developed approach. This article concludes with an examination of emerging issues in evaluating collaborative school health support during the first 18 months of development, and implementation and future perspectives regarding sustainable collaboration and quality improvement.