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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.
- Perspectivas sobre a saúde mental em PortugalPublication . Palha, João; Palha, FilipaThe Portuguese National Mental Health Plan, approved for the period between 2007-2016 has created expectations for the improvement of the quality of care in the domains that have not been achieved. This article will briefly discuss three key aspects regarding the Portuguese situation in the mental health field: access to care; mental health services; stigma and literacy in mental health. In order to contextualize these issues, the article starts by defining mental health and mental illness, and by highlighting its prevalence and burden associated.
- 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.
- Finding space to mental health : promoting mental health in adolescents (12 to 14 year olds): preliminary results of the intervention's effectivenessPublication . Campos, Luísa; Dias, Pedro; Palha, Filipa; Duarte, Ana; Veiga, ElisaMental health and well-being are fundamental to our collective and individual ability as humans to think, to feel emotions, to form and maintain relationships, to study, to pursue leisure interests, to make day-to-day decisions and to enjoy a fulfilling life. A healthy adolescence is a prerequisite for a healthy adulthood. However, the current reality presents a concerning picture. The formation of individual and collective mental capital – especially in the earlier stages of life – is being held back by a range of avoidable risks to mental health (World Health Organization [WHO], 2013). Adolescents from Southern Europe (region that has been more severely hit by the financial crisis; e.g., Portugal) are pointed out as an extremely vulnerable group, as their mental health might easily be influenced by their parents’ economic difficulties and by the lack of social solidarity (European Parliament, 2012). Adolescents’ mental health promotion is regarded as a vital concern (WHO, 2005a, 2013). Interventions focused on mental health literacy promotion have revealed important advantages in preventing, recognising, early intervening and reducing stigma (Pinfold, Stuart, Thornicroft & Arboleda-Florez, 2005; Pinfold, Toulmin, Thornicroft, Huxley, Farmer & Graham, 2003; Schulze, Richter-Werling, Matschinger & Angermeyer, 2003; Stuart, 2006). Consistent with mental health promotion frameworks proffered by the World Health Organization (2005a), we must engage with young people in environments where they interact (Burns, 2011). Schools are implicitly one of the most important settings for promoting the mental health of adolescents (Barry, Clarke, Jenkins & Patel, 2013; WHO, 2001). The “Finding Space to Mental Health: Promoting mental health in adolescents (12- to 14 year olds)” project aims at increasing young people’s mental health literacy. During the first year, an assessment instrument – Mental Health Literacy questionnaire (MHLq) - and a two-day intervention were developed. The intervention is composed by 2 sessions at one-week intervals, lasting 90 minutes each. Sessions follow an interactive methodology, using group dynamics, music and videos and group discussions regarding participants’ emotional well-being. The study of the intervention’s effectiveness is conducted through a pretest-postest design using the MHLq in both an experimental group and a control group. This article presents the preliminary results regarding the effectiveness of the intervention aimed at enhancing mental health literacy in a sample of 100 Portuguese adolescents (12- to 14-year-olds). The postest showed students’ increased levels of knowledge and self-help strategies. These results suggest that the intervention developed appears to be adequate to the proposed goal, and they strengthen the belief that targeting young people in systematic and sustainable school-based intervention is a promising approach for the promotion of mental health literacy (Rickwood, Deane, Wilson & Ciarrichi, 2005; Schulze et al., 2003; WHO, 2010).
- 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.