The magnitude of mental disorders is a growing public health concern. An increasing amount of research globally has attempted to understand the reasons for poor help-seeking for different mental health disorders. A segment of work has focused on ‘mental health literacy’ (MHL) defined as knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders which aid their recognition, management & prevention. Studies on mental health literacy, people’s knowledge of, and attitude towards mental illness, and beliefs about mental health treatment were obtained through a review of literature in PubMed databases using the medical subject headings (MeSH) terms and unpublished, grey literature during the year 1995 to 2018. Nearly 50 of the eligible articles were included for the final report. Findings revealed that the general public have relatively poor recognition of the symptoms of mental health disorders and appear to emphasise self-help over standard medical treatments. Negative attitudes toward mental illness that hinders individuals from seeking professional treatment, and help-seeking are the common themes that emerge from the findings. Findings also revealed that treatment seeking, attitudes and beliefs toward mental illness are related to mental health literacy. Several different factors that influence have been identified, including gender, culture, age, educational qualifications, and personality. MHL in general remains at a relatively low level. There is an urgent need to improve awareness of mental illness and mental health literacy among the general public. Future research for improving MHL are required.

Background: Quality of nursing work life (QNWL) is degree to which nurses can satisfy important personal needs through their experiences in work organization, while achieving the organization's goals, to make meaningful contributions to their organization. Objectives of the study were to assess the quality of nursing work life among staff nurses in a tertiary care hospital in Puducherry and to study the influence of socio-demographic factors on the QNWL of these staff nurses.Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analytical study in a tertiary care hospital in Puducherry between January and June 2017. Based on universal sampling, all 429 nurses with more than one-year work experience were selected for the study. After obtaining Ethical approval from the institution and informed consent from the study participants, data on socio-demographic characteristics, work-related information and QNWL were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. Double data entry was done in Epidata entry client (v4.2.0) and analysed using STATA (v14) software.Results: Among the nurses, 90% were females and 60% were from rural background. The study revealed that there was a moderate QNWL score reported among majority (60%) of staff nurses. Bivariate analysis showed higher the age, female gender, absence of dependent individuals at home, higher income, more work experience, having only a diploma degree, working in OPDs and no nightshifts were the significant factors contributing to higher QNWL scores (p<0.05).Conclusions: The study identified factors that influence the nurses’ work life quality which can be used for developing and appropriately implementing successful induction programs to improve the QNWL.

Background: A majority of mental illness start during adolescent period, and teachers can be a major resource in provision of mental health services to them. Stigma is a major barrier between persons with mental illness and opportunities to recover. Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional analytical study was conducted to assess the stigma toward mental illness and associated factors among higher secondary school teachers in Puducherry from April 2017 to March 2018. Multistage sampling was used to select 566 teachers from 46 schools. A part of the vignette-based “Mental Health Literacy Scale” portraying depression was used to assess stigma toward mental illness. Sociodemographic and work characteristics were also obtained. Data were analyzed using SPSS v16. To identify factors associated with stigma, bivariate analysis was done using Chi-square test and multivariate analysis using logistic regression. Results: Among the teachers, 72.9% and 65.7% showed overall agreement to personal and perceived stigma, respectively, toward case in vignette. Teachers in lower age group [adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 4.6 (95% confidence interval (CI): 2.54–8.33)], male gender [AOR: 2.79 (95% CI: 1.85–4.24)], working in urban [AOR: 2.8 (95% CI: 1.91–4.15)], private schools [AOR: 2.58 (95% CI: 1.77–3.77)], and less teaching experience [AOR: 3.72 (95% CI: 2.4–5.88)] had significantly higher personal stigma. Similarly, lower age group [AOR: 4.6 (95% CI: 2.54–8.33)], male gender [AOR: 2.79 (95% CI: 1.85–4.24)], working in urban [AOR: 2.8 (95% CI: 1.91–4.15)] schools, and less teaching experience [AOR: 3.72 (95% CI: 2.4–5.88)] had significantly higher perceived stigma. Conclusion: About 70% teachers showed overall agreement to stigma toward the depressive case vignette. The significant factors influencing stigma were identified. This can act as a baseline to implementmental health training program for teachers therefore bringing an attitudinal shift to being positive toward the psychologically disturbed.

Background: The magnitude of mental disorders is a growing public health concern. According to World Health Organization (WHO) reports, one out of five children suffer from a disabling mental illness. Majority of mental illnesses start during the adolescent period. Management of mental illnesses start from recognizing the needy adolescent and providing appropriate therapy and support. Most of the children and adolescents are students who spend almost half of their active time in schools under observation of their teachers. Teachers interact with students daily and can spot the changes in their behavior before they develop full-blown symptoms. Hence, teachers can be a major resource of importance in providing basic mental health services. The teacher’s ability to identify the early signs of mental illness in adolescent students can be considered as the most critical and neglected area. Majority of the studies are conducted in the community or adolescent students and much less attention has been paid to the mental health literacy of educators, who are important role models and youth influencers in addressing mental health literacy. The scenario in India in this regard is highly disappointing with few studies done among teachers.

IntroductionSymptoms of anxiety and depression in Indian adolescents are common. Schools can be opportune sites for delivery of mental health interventions. India, however, is without a evidence-based and integrated whole-school mental health approach. This article describes the study design for the safeguarding adolescent mental health in India (SAMA) project. The aim of SAMA is to codesign and feasibility test a suite of multicomponent interventions for mental health across the intersecting systems of adolescents, schools, families and their local communities in India.Methods and analysisOur project will codesign and feasibility test four interventions to run in parallel in eight schools (three assigned to waitlist) in Bengaluru and Kolar in Karnataka, India. The primary aim is to reduce the prevalence of adolescent anxiety and depression. Codesign of interventions will build on existing evidence and resources. Interventions for adolescents at school will be universal, incorporating curriculum and social components. Interventions for parents and teachers will target mental health literacy, and also for teachers, training in positive behaviour practices. Intervention in the school community will target school climate to improve student mental health literacy and care. Intervention for the wider community will be via adolescent-led films and social media. We will generate intervention cost estimates, test outcome measures and identify pathways to increase policy action on the evidence.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval has been granted by the National Institute of Mental Health Neurosciences Research Ethics Committee (NIMHANS/26th IEC (Behv Sc Div/2020/2021)) and the University of Leeds School of Psychology Research Ethics Committee (PSYC-221). Certain data will be available on a data sharing site. Findings will be disseminated via peer-reviewed journals and conferences.