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The impact of a mental health teaching programme on rural and urban secondary school students’ perceptions of mental illness in southwest Nigeria

Objective Available evidence suggests that children hold negative views about mental illness. Studies show that it is possible for schools and mental health services to jointly undertake child and adolescent mental health promotion. This study aimed to assess the impact of a school based mental health awareness programme aimed at increasing mental health literacy and reducing negative views about persons with mental illness. Methods A total of 154 secondary school students in Ibadan, southwest Nigeria, were allocated into an intervention and a control group. Students in the intervention group received a three-hour mental health awareness session. All students completed a pre-, immediate post, and six month post-intervention questionnaire on their views about mental health and illness. Results There was a significant difference in the mean knowledge scores between the intervention and the control group post-intervention, but no significant differences in attitude and social distance scores. Conclusion Brief training workshops appear able to produce small but positive changes in the mental health knowledge of young Nigerians.