Mental health training for Elementary Education Teachers and its impact on the school environment

Author(s)

Celina Andrade Pereira

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Medicina (FM/SBD)
• Defense date: 2013-10-01

Examining board members

Guilherme Vanoni Polanczyk; Bacy Fleitlich Bilyk; Magdala de Araujo Novaes

• Advisor: Guilherme Vanoni Polanczyk

Abstract

Children affected by mental disorders are largely unrecognized and untreated across the world. The educational system is closely related to the childhood mental health field and actions that occur in the context of education may be critical to improve the care of those affected by mental illness. We developed a web-based program (web-based interactive educational group, WBIE) to educate and assist primary school teachers in the recognition and management of children with mental disorders. Additionally, we conducted a cluster-randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of the WEIE intervention in comparison to the same program based on text and video materials only (text and video-based educational group, TVBE) and to no training (waiting list control, WL). The nine schools of a community in São Paulo, Brazil, were randomized to the three groups, and teachers completed the educational programs during three weeks. Regarding knowledge, the WBIE group was superior to the TVBE group in 2 out of 9 outcomes and the WBIE group was superior to the WL group in 5 out of 9 outcomes. The TVBE was superior to the WL in 2 out of 9 outcomes. Regarding beliefs and attitudes, the WBIE group presented less stigmatized concepts than the TVBE group and more non-stigmatized concepts than the WL group, which presented less stigmatized concepts than the TVBE. There was no effect of the intervention over attitudes to mental health. This randomized controlled trial demonstrated the effectiveness of a web-based program to educate school teachers in the identification and management of children with mental disorders (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 10/14223-3 - Mental health training for elementary education teachers and its impact on school performance
• Grantee: Celina Andrade Pereira
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master