"EspaiJove.net"- a school-based intervention programme to promote mental health and eradicate stigma in the adolescent population: study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial

Rocío Casañas; Victoria-Mailen Arfuch; Pere Castellví; Juan-José Gil; Maria Torres; Angela Pujol; Gemma Castells; Mercè Teixidó; Maria Teresa San-Emeterio; Hernán María Sampietro; Aleix Caussa; Jordi Alonso; Lluís Lalucat-Jo

doi:10.1186/s12889-018-5855-1

"EspaiJove.net"- a school-based intervention programme to promote mental health and eradicate stigma in the adolescent population: study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial

BMC Public Health. 2018 Jul 31;18(1):939. doi: 10.1186/s12889-018-5855-1.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Research Department, Associació Centre Higiene Mental Les Corts, Grup CHM Salut Mental, C/ Numància, 103-105, Bajos, 08029, Barcelona, Spain. rocio.casanas@chmcorts.com.
² Escola Superior Infermeria del Mar (ESIM), Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), C/ Numància, 103-105, Bajos, 08029, Barcelona, Spain. rocio.casanas@chmcorts.com.
³ Departament of Clinical and Health Psychology, School of Psychology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Building B Campus de Bellaterra, 08193 Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès Barcelona), Barcelona, Spain.
⁴ Department of Psychology, Division of Clinical Psychology, Universidad de Jaen, Campus Las Lagunillas, s/n, 23071, Jaén, Spain.
⁵ Child and Juvenile Mental Health Centre of Les Corts, Associació Centre Higiene Mental Les Corts, Grup CHM Salut Mental, C/Montnegre 21, 3a planta, 08029, Barcelona, Spain.
⁶ Child and Juvenile Mental Health Centre of Sarria-Sant Gervasi, Associació Centre Higiene Mental Les Corts, Grup CHM Salut Mental, C/ Via Augusta 364-372, 4a planta, 08017, Barcelona, Spain.
⁷ Fundació Privada Centre Higiene Mental Les Corts, Grup CHM Salut Mental, C/ Numancia, 103-105, Bajos, 08029, Barcelona, Spain.
⁸ Activament Catalunya Associació, C/ Rocafort, 242 Bis, 3r B, 08029, Barcelona, Spain.
⁹ Spora Sinergies Consultoria social, C/ Floridablanca, 146, 08011, Barcelona, Spain.
¹⁰ Institut Hospital del Mar d'Investigacions Mèdiques (IMIM), C/ Dr. Aiguader, 88, 08003, Barcelona, Spain.
¹¹ CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP) and Dept. Health and Experimental Sciences (DCEXS), Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), C/ Dr. Aiguader, 88, 08003, Barcelona, Spain.
¹² Research Department, Associació Centre Higiene Mental Les Corts, Grup CHM Salut Mental, C/ Numància, 103-105, Bajos, 08029, Barcelona, Spain.

Abstract

Background: One half of adults who develop any mental disorder do so during adolescence. Previous literature showed that Mental Health Literacy (MHL) interventions impact mental health knowledge, reduce the associated stigma, and promote help-seeking among the adolescent population. However, evidence for the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of these programmes remains inconclusive. The aim of this paper is to present a study protocol that evaluates the effectiveness of the " EspaiJove.net " programme. " EspaiJove.net " consists of a universal MHL intervention designed to promote mental health knowledge, increase help-seeking, reduce the stigma associated with mental illness, and prevent mental disorders in Spanish school settings.

Methods: A school-based clustered randomised controlled trial (cRCT) design with 12 months of follow-up.

Subjects: At least 408 secondary school students who attend the 3rd year of E.S.O (Compulsory secondary education for 13- to 14-year- olds) will be recruited from 8 schools within Barcelona city, Catalonia (Spain).

Intervention: A dose-response intervention will be delivered with 4 arms: 1) Sensitivity Programme (SP) in Mental Health (1 h); 2) Mental Health Literacy (MHL) Programme (6 h); 3) MHL plus first-person Stigma Reduction (MHL + SR) (7 h); 4) Control group: waiting list. Primary outcomes: 1) MHL: EspaiJove.net MHL Test (EMHLT); 2) Stigma: Reported and Intended Behaviour Scale (RIBS) and Community Attitudes toward the Mentally Ill (CAMI). Others outcomes: 1) Acceptability of intervention; 2) Mental health symptoms and emotional well-being (SDQ); 3) States of Change Scale (SCS); 4) Bullying and Cyberbullying; 5) Quality of life (EQ-5D); 6) Help seeking and use of treatment; 7) Health benefits.

Discussion: Results would be informative for efforts to prevent mental disorders and promote mental wellbeing in secondary school students.

Trial registration: NCT03215654 (date registration July 12, 2017).

Keywords: Adolescence; Intervention; Mental health; Mental health literacy; Prevention; Promotion; School; Stigma.

Publication types

Clinical Trial Protocol
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adolescent Behavior
Bullying
Cluster Analysis
Female
Health Literacy / methods
Humans
Male
Mental Disorders / prevention & control*
Mental Disorders / psychology*
Mental Health
Program Evaluation
Quality of Life
Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
School Health Services*
Social Stigma*
Spain

Associated data

ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT03215654