Evaluating the impact of a student mental health training programme for local secondary school students in Hong Kong

Abstract

<p>Learning Objective: School-based mental health training programmes for suicide prevention have the potential to be effective if they recognise the perspectives of students and can be well-integrated with existing school efforts. <br></p><p>Background: Suicide Help Intervention through Education and Leadership Development for Students (S.H.I.E.L.D.S.) was a leadership training programme for secondary school students in Hong Kong which aimed to strengthen peer support for students in distress or crisis by empowering selected students to become proactive gatekeepers and lay leaders in mental health promotion and suicide prevention in their school communities. The programme provided student leaders with knowledge on how to identify and respond to peers in distress or crisis, as well as practical experience in designing and implementing a student-led mental health promotion project to foster stronger social networks and encourage help-seeking behaviours among their peers. The programme took place over two rounds during the 2021- 22 and 2022-23 school years, and involved nine cohorts from eight secondary schools. <br></p><p>Methods: To explore the potential impacts and implications of the programme from the perspective of the student leaders, school staff, and general students who participated in the leaders’ student-led project activities, we conducted semi-structured interviews after each programme round ended in October 2022 and May 2023, respectively. <br></p><p>Result: In total, we conducted ten focus group interviews with 40 student leaders, nine focus group interviews with 25 general students, and eight individual interviews with 12 school staff from the eight intervention schools. Across all three groups of participants, interviewees described the mental health culture within their respective schools prior to participating in S.H.I.E.L.D.S., and how the programme aligned with their school’s needs. They also discussed the growth experienced by the student leaders, including improvements in their mental health-related knowledge and ability to help their peers. Specific observations were made on the student-led project activities, including improvements in knowledge and attitudes towards mental health of the general students who participated in the activities. Finally, interviewees discussed whether and how S.H.I.E.L.D.S. could be integrated into their school’s mental health efforts in the future, with schools who believed they would have a higher level of success in doing so being ones who had pre-existing activities or programming which could be complemented or better supported by S.H.I.E.L.D.S. <br></p><p>Discussion: Overall, our results suggest that the programme was able to achieve its aims, and could prove to be an effective school-based intervention for mental health promotion and suicide prevention.<br></p>