Open AccessDevelopment of a World Health Organization mental health in schools programme in the Eastern Mediterranean Region
Author(s) -
Hesham M. Hamoda,
Sharon Hoover,
Jeff Q. Bostic,
Atif Rahman,
Khalid Saaed
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
eastern mediterranean health journal/eastern mediterranean health journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.442
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1687-1634
pISSN - 1020-3397
DOI - 10.26719/emhj.22.022
Subject(s) - mental health , health promotion , psychological intervention , promotion (chess) , mental health literacy , nursing , curriculum , psychology , political science , medicine , public health , pedagogy , mental illness , psychiatry , politics , law
Background: Schools provide an exceptional opportunity for mental health promotion and intervention. Aims: To describe the development of a World Health Organization (WHO) mental health in schools programme in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Methods: Two tenets guided development of the mental health in schools programme: (1) it used a multitiered system of support framework that includes 3 tiers of interventions (universal, early and targeted); and (2) interventions that must be feasible for implementation by non-mental health professionals. Results: The WHO mental health in schools programme manual is organized into a background section, followed by 3 modules: social–emotional childhood development; mental health promoting schools (promotion and prevention); and addressing student mental health problems in your classroom, including specific classroom strategies and case examples. Conclusion: Developing an appropriate curriculum that is sensitive to the needs of individual countries requires involvement of those familiar with schooling in those countries. It should include mental health priorities and practices that promote mental health, and coalesce school staff, parents and community members in support of their children