Alan McLuckie|Stan Kutcher|Yifeng Wei|Cynthia Weaver
Sustained improvements in students’ mental health literacy with use of a mental health curriculum in Canadian schools
University of Calgary|Dalhousie University|Dalhousie University|Izaak Walton Killam Health Centre|Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences
enhancement mental health literacy youth focus increasing interest mental health professionals educators alike schools ideal site addressing mental health literacy young people currently limited evidence regarding impact curriculumbased interventions within high school settings examined effect highschool mental health curriculum guide enhancing mental health literacy canadian schools conducted secondary analysis surveys students participated classroom mental health course taught usual teachers evaluation students mental health literacy knowledgeattitudes completed classroom implementation 2month followup used pairedsamples ttests cohens value determine significance impact change 265 students completed surveys students knowledge significantly improved pre posttests p 0001 090 maintained followup p 0001 073 similarly attitude significantly improved pre posttests p 0001 025 significantly higher followup baseline p 0007 018 guide applied usual teachers usual classroom curriculum may help improve student knowledge attitudes regarding mental health first study demonstrate positive impact curriculumbased mental health literacy program canadian high school population