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- United to help teachers: intervention to promote mental health literacy in secondary school teachers: preliminary resultsPublication . Campos, Luísa; Palha, Filipa; Dias, Pedro; Costa, NatáliaSeveral adolescents experience significant mental health problems that interfere with their development, but they often don´t have the necessary knowledge to recognise the symptoms (Trudgen & Lawn, 2011). Teachers therefore play a crucial role in early detection of mental health problems in their students and referral to early intervention support services (Graham, Phelps, Maddison & Fitzgerald, 2011; McGorry, Purcell, Hickie, & Jorm, 2007; VicHealth, 2008). Frequently they are the first to observe the maladaptive behaviours that affect young people’s learning and overall functioning (Meldrum, Venn & Kutcher, 2009; Trudgen et al., 2011; Whitley, Smith & Vaillancourt, 2012). The “United to Help Teachers - Intervention to promote mental health literacy in secondary school teachers” project aims at promoting mental health literacy in secondary school teachers. The intervention is composed by two sessions, 150 minutes each, one-week interval. Sessions follow an interactive methodology, using group dynamics and music and group discussions. The impact of the intervention is conducted through a pretest-posttest design using “Questionnaire UPA Makes the Difference: Perceptions of mental health problems – teachers’ form”. Sixty secondary school teachers participated in this study. The postest showed a significant increase in teachers’ positive perceptions regarding mental health problems (less stigmatized), as well as a significant improvement of teachers’ perceived knowledge regarding mental health issues. These results suggest that increasing teachers’ mental health literacy is a crucial complement of school-based intervention that can permit early detection of mental health problems in young people.
- UPA Faz a Diferença - Acções de Sensibilização/ Pro-Saúde Mental junto de jovens entre os 15 e os 18 anos: diferenças de géneroPublication . Campos, Luísa; Palha, Filipa; Dias, Pedro; Veiga, Elisa; Lima, Vânia Sousa; Costa, Natália; Duarte, Ana Isabel
- UPA faz a diferença - Acções de sensibilização pró-saúde mental: resultados preliminares de acções de sensibilização pró-saúde mentalPublication . Campos, Luísa; Palha, Filipa; Dias, Pedro; Veiga, Elisa; Lima, Vânia Sousa; Costa, Natália; Duarte, Ana IsabelObjectivos: Este artigo apresenta os resultados preliminares da avaliação do impacto das acções de sensibilização pró-saúde mental, desenvolvidas no âmbito do projecto UPA Faz a Diferença, bem como das características psicométricas do “Questionário UPA faz a diferença”. Métodos: Partindo de uma amostra de 232 alunos (15 aos 18 anos) do ensino secundário, 121 alunos (grupo experimental - GE) participaram nas acções de sensibilização, constituídas por 2 sessões. Seguindo uma metodologia do tipo pré-pós, foi aplicado o “Questionário UPA” no GE, no início da 1ª sessão e final da 2ª; bem como no grupo de controlo (GC), nos mesmos momentos do GE. Resultados: Dos resultados preliminares (N=232 alunos; GE=121, GC=111), relativos aos scores globais de 2 secções do questionário, destaca-se: (1) o aumento mais expressivo de percepções positivas em relação a problemas de saúde mental (menos estigmatizantes) no GE e o aumento significativo das percepções de conhecimentos apenas no GE; bem como (2) os resultados satisfatórios de consistência interna nas secções percepções estigmatizantes e percepções de conhecimentos (alpha de Cronbach=0.75 e 0.92 respectivamente). Conclusões: Os resultados indicam que as acções de sensibilização parecem constituir uma intervenção efectiva no aumento da mental health literacy, bem como na diminuição das percepções estigmatizantes. Os níveis de consistência interna obtidos para as secções percepções estigmatizantes e percepções de conhecimentos do “Questionário UPA” são satisfatórios, apontando para a fidelidade destas duas secções.
- Finding space to mental health - promoting mental health in adolescents: pilot studyPublication . Campos, Luísa; Dias, Pedro; Palha, Filipa
- Mental health awareness intervention in schoolsPublication . Campos, Luísa; Palha, Filipa; Dias, Pedro; Lima, Vânia Sousa; Veiga, Elisa; Costa, Natália; Duarte, Ana IsabelThe lack of information and stigma associated with mental disorders are major obstacles to the promotion of mental health. The “UPA Makes the Difference: Mental health awareness intervention in schools” project aims to contribute to increase young people knowledge regarding mental health issues. This project is part of the “United to Help Movement”, focusing on the combat of mental illness stigma and discrimination. Objectives: to describe the psychometric characteristics of the questionnaire UH (United to Help) and to verify the adequacy of action to promote mental health. Methods: this study was conducted with 26 students (15-17 year-olds). The mental health intervention is composed by 2 sessions. The questionnaire was administered at the beginning of the 1st session and in the end of the 2nd session. Results: cronbach’s alpha regarding 2 sections of the “Questionnaire UPA” stated poor and acceptable levels of internal consistency (stigmatizing perceptions and perceptions of knowledge, respectively). The post intervention assessment showed a significant increase in the total score of the perceptions of knowledge; no significant differences in stigmatizing perceptions; and a significant decrease in help-seeking intentions when facing a mental health problem, although most participants have come to consider different types of help. Conclusion: the results suggest the need to review the structure of the “stigmatizing perceptions” section of the questionnaire, as well as to conduct new analyses with a larger sample. Furthermore, results show the adequacy of the methodology used in the intervention, particularly in the capacity showed to promote the increase of knowledge regarding mental health issues.
- Portuguese Adaptation and Input for the Validation of the Views on Inpatient Care (VOICE) outcome measure to assess service users’ perceptions of inpatient psychiatric carePublication . Palha, João; Palha, Filipa; Dias, Pedro; Gonçalves-Pereira, ManuelIntroduction: Patient satisfaction is an important measure of health care quality. Patients’ views have seldom been considered in the construction of measures addressing satisfaction with inpatient facilities in psychiatry. The Views on Inpatient Care - VOICE - is a first service-user generated outcome measure relying solely on their perceptions of acute care, representing a valuable indicator of service users’ perceived quality of care. The present study aimed to contribute to the validation of the Portuguese version of VOICE. Material and Methods: The questionnaire was translated into Portuguese and applied to a sample of eighty-five female inpatients of a psychiatric institution. Data analysis focused on assessing reliability and exploring the impact of demographic and clinical variables on participants’ satisfaction. Results: Internal consistency of the questionnaire was high (α = 0.87). Participants’ age and marital status were associated with differences in scores, with older patients and patients who were married or involved in a close relationship presenting higher satisfaction levels. Discussion: The questionnaire demonstrated good internal consistency and acceptability, as well as construct validity. Further studies should expand the analysis of the psychometric properties of this measure e.g., test-retest reliability. Conclusion: The Portuguese version of VOICE is a promising tool to assess service users’ perceptions of inpatient psychiatric care in Portugal.
- Effectiveness of Social Cognition and Interaction Training (SCIT) in Community Settings in PortugalPublication . Palha, Filipa; Roberts, DavidSocial cognition is a promising treatment target in schizophrenia because of its close link to social functioning impairment. Social Cognition and Interaction Training (SCIT) has received support in efficacy trials, but its effectiveness in routine clinical care and in non-English speaking countries, including Portugal is not well established. The present study aimed to contribute to study the effectiveness of the Portuguese version of SCIT in routine care in Portugal. In the present quasi-experimental study, 35 outpatients with schizophrenia received either treatment as usual (TAU) (n = 16) or TAU plus SCIT (n = 19). Participants completed the Hinting task, the Ambiguous Intentions Hostility Questionnaire-Ambiguous items (AIHQ-A), and two measures of social functioning at baseline and after 24 weeks of treatment. On the Hinting task, both groups showed improvements, with a larger effect size in the SCIT group. On the AIHQ, the SCIT group showed a trend level advantage, which became significant when considering only patients with elevated baseline bias scores. The SCIT group showed strong improvements relative to the TAU group in social skill performance but no change in global social functioning. Overall, this study provides initial support for the feasibility and potential effectiveness of SCIT in community settings in Portugal.
- UPA (United to help movement) makes a difference: a school-based intervention to promote mental health literacy and combat mental illness stigma in young peoplePublication . Campos, Luísa; Palha, F.; Lima, V.; Veiga, E.; Dias, P.
- Cognición Social en la Esquizofrenia: Breve revisión de conceptos e instrumentos de valoraciónPublication . Palha, FilipaA pesar de los considerables avances en la comprensión y el tratamiento de la esquizofrenia, hay todavía un número significativo de personas que sufren esta enfermedad y que experimentan grandes dificultades en el funcionamiento social y estos aspectos resultan ser barreras claras para la recuperación. En los últimos años, la cognición social se ha convertido en un modelo valioso para comprender la naturaleza y la incapacidad del funcionamiento social de las personas que sufren esquizofrenia y diferentes estudios han señalado su papel potencial en la rehabilitación de la población con esta enfermedad. Esta presentación tiene como objetivos contextualizar brevemente el aumento reciente del interés en la cognición social en la esquizofrenia, revisar el concepto de cognición social, describir los apartados cognitivosociales clave, estudiados en el contexto de la enfermedad que nos ocupa y los instrumentos usados para valorarlos y finalmente presentar algunos retos de la investigación en esta área.
- Is it possible to “find space for mental health” in young people? effectiveness of a school-based mental health literacy promotion programPublication . Campos, Luísa; Dias, Pedro; Duarte, Ana; Veiga, Elisa; Dias, Claudia Camila; Palha, FilipaLack of knowledge regarding, and the stigma associated with, mental disorders have been identified as major obstacles for the promotion of mental health and early intervention. The present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a school-based intervention program focused on the promotion of mental health literacy (MHL) in young people (“Finding Space for Mental Health”). A sample of 543 students (22 classes), aged between 12 and 14 years old, participated in the study. Each class of students was randomly assigned to the control group (CG; n = 284; 11 classes) or the experimental group (EG; n = 259; 11 classes). MHL was assessed using the Mental Health Literacy questionnaire (MHLq), which is comprised of three dimensions—Knowledge/Stereotypes, First Aid Skills and Help Seeking, and Self-Help Strategies. The scores on these dimensions can also be combined to give an overall or total score. Participants from the EG attended the MHL promotion program (two sessions, 90 min each) delivered at one-week intervals. Sessions followed an interactive methodology, using group dynamics, music, and videos adapted to the target group. All participants responded to the MHLq at three points in time: pre-intervention assessment (one week prior to the intervention), post-intervention assessment (one week after the intervention) and follow-up assessment (six months after the intervention). The intervention effectiveness and the differential impact of sociodemographic variables on the effectiveness of the program were studied using a Generalized Estimation Equation (GEE). Results revealed that participants from the EG demonstrated, on average, significantly higher improvement in MHL from pre-intervention to follow-up when compared to participants from the CG. Different sociodemographic variables affected the effectiveness of the program on distinct dimensions of the MHLq. Overall, “Finding Space for Mental Health” showed efficacy as a short-term promotion program for improving MHL in schools.