Improving mental health literacy among young people aged 11–15 years in Java, Indonesia: co-development and feasibility testing of a culturally-appropriate, user-centred resource (IMPeTUs) – a study protocol

Abstract

Background Depression and anxiety are two of the leading causes of disease burden in low-to-middle income coutnries. The World Health Organisation has engaged in a programme of scaling-up mental health services, but significant challenges remain. Improving mental health literacy in children and young people, a core part of recent, global health strategies has the potential to address some of these challenges. The study aims to co-develop and feasibility test, a culturally-appropriate toolkit to promote depression and anxiety focused mental health literacy and self-management skills in Indonesia, for children aged 11–15 years. Methods A mixed methods study comprising four phases. Through a systematic review of existing evidence, phase 1 will review approaches to improve mental health literacy and self-management in South East Asia and critically review current evidence regarding intervention effect. Phase 2 will explore stakeholders’ views on depression, anxiety and mental health more broadly and identify priorities for the intervention through the use of semi-structured interviews and/or focus groups with policy makers, clinicians, teachers, adolescent service users, carers and young people aged 11–15. Phase 3 will comprise iterative workshops with local stakeholders to present our findings and co-produce a testable, culturally appropriate toolkit to promote mental health literacy and depression/anxiety focused self-management in 11–15 year olds in Java, Indonesia. Phase 4 comprises feasibility evaluation of our developed intervention via nine in-depth case studies (Jakarta, Bogor and Magelang). We will examine the impact, acceptability and feasibility of our prototype intervention and produce evidence-based guidelines for wider implementation. Discussion Tools to support mental health literacy and self-management are a low cost way in which mental health services in LMICs can attempt to address the burden of anxiety and depression amongst children and young people. However, this is an underexplored area in Indonesia. Working closely with local stakeholders, this study will design and undertake feasibility evaluation of co-produced mental health literacy and anxiety and depression focussed interactive self-management tools. This abstract has also been published on the funders website (UK Research and Innovation. Improving Mental Health Literacy Among Young People aged 12-15 years in Indonesia 2019). Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12913-019-4328-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Adolescents’ Empowerment for Mental Health Literacy in School: A Pilot Study on ProLiSMental Psychoeducational Intervention

“…Psychoeducation emerges as a useful educational strategy often associated with prevention and intervention in mental illness, but it is also emerging in the promotion of mental health and MHL, particularly in the school context [25][26][27][28][29][30][31]. However, some studies still reported limitations and suggestions for future research [26,28,[30][31][32][33].…”

Current Community-based Mental Health Promotion Strategies Among children and Adolescents: A Literature Review of Evidence and Feasibility in Indonesia

“…Individuals should aid themselves with recognition, management, or prevention related to mental health disorders. Mental health literacy protocol involves three comprehensive phases: strengths and needs assessment, action plan development, and its implementation and monitoring (Brooks et al, 2019).…”

“…School-based psycho-educational interventions have helped diminish stigma, advance youths' mental wellbeing information, and expand mental well-being education in higher and lower-income countries (Brooks et al, 2019). Schools are a viable setting for gathering a vast population of children and youths for mental well-being advancement, and it is also imperative to reflect on the vital part of beliefs on mental well-being among this age group.…”

Children and young people’s beliefs about mental health and illness in Indonesia: A qualitative study informed by the Common Sense Model of Self-Regulation

“…These three sites also had established child and adolescent mental health services which were important to support study recruitment. The data presented in this manuscript forms part of a larger programme of work which aims to co-develop and evaluate an anxiety and depression focussed mental health literacy intervention for children and young people aged 11-15 [32].…”