Strategies for improving the mental health literacy among adolescents: a systematic review

Abstract

Background: Mental health of adolescents is a widespread global health concern, especially given that mental health disorders typically manifest between the ages of 12 and 25 years. Good mental health literacy is associated with decreasing mental health problems. However, the research on the strategies to improve the mental health literacy of adolescents has been relatively scarce and at times poorly evaluated.
Objective: The objective of this systematic review was to explore and describe the current literature that focused on the strategies for improving mental health literacy among adolescents.
Methods: Systematic review was followed to achieve the objective of the study. The review was conducted from May to July 2022. Four databases obtained from the North-West University online library were used to address the review question namely (1) African Journals, (2) Google Scholar, (3) Science Direct and (4) Sabinet Online.
Results: Five themes emerged from the results of this systematic review namely, strengthening adolescents’ resilience, use of internet and books, social support, school-based mental health literacy programmes as well as community awareness campaigns.
Conclusion: The findings of this study shows that to improve mental health literacy among adolescents, we need comprehensive strategies. More studies on this topic are needed to prevent or reduce the prevalence of mental illness among adolescents.