Health Matters
Advancing Mental Health in Schools
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Deirdre Heenan
There is mounting evidence that mental disorders are increasingly common among young people and that the behavioural symptoms of mental illness is becoming evident at an early age. Schools and teachers have consistently reported the scale of the problem in recent years, but recently they have also voiced just how ill-equipped they feel to deal with the increasingly complex mental health issues in their respective institutions. Reasons cited for this include a lack of training, financial constraints, and the absence of support from professional NHS service. This research adopted a mixed method approach using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. It assessed the current mental health interventions in primary and post primary schools in Northern Ireland. Whilst there is a range of mental health activity is going on in school, it is fragmented, often viewed as marginal, and not embedded into the curriculum. Clearly there is a need for much more integration between health and education to ensure provision is uniform and appropriate.
Mapping Perceptions of Biopsychosocial Determinants of Mental Wellbeing and Exploring Interventions with UK Primary School Pupils: Reflections on the Use of Visual Methods for Engaging Nine to Eleven Year Olds in Interdisciplinary Research
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Stephen Jennings
Contemporary public health research has suggested that focusing on understanding the context and social systems into which interventions are introduced might be one way to improve programme effectiveness and sustainability (e.g. Moore and Evans, 2017; Moore et al., 2015; Hawe et al. 2009). This research also expresses that stakeholder engagement in the development of interventions is a crucial element in this process. This project therefore explores key education and health stakeholders’ perspectives on mental health interventions in Welsh primary schools. This study also has an interdisciplinary methodological focus, drawing on concepts and methods from sociology, psychology, education and public health, looking to advance the literature on how best to devise appropriate ways of engaging primary school pupils in research and programme development. Visual workshops with 9-11 year old pupils were conducted as part of the wider research. The lead researcher developed a brain mapping activity based on the body mapping approach used in physical health fields, used to explore primary school pupils’ constructions of their own biological, psychological and socio-environmental determinants of mental health. A circle ranking technique was also used to explore child stakeholder perspectives on school-based interventions: pupils used this to rank their ideas and opinions of school approaches to mental health and wellbeing. These activities were evaluated both in workshops and using anonymous forms. This presentation reflects on the applicability of these activities for co-productive work with child stakeholders in interdisciplinary research and concludes that the evaluations indicate that the above methods are developmentally appropriate and engaging.
Intersectionality and Harm Versus Autonomy : Findings from International Studies Examining Whether Vulnerabilities Contribute to Differences in Patient Safety
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Sue Dean, Tracy Levett-Jones, Deborah Debono, Reece Hinchcliff, Joanne Travaglia
This study examines whether vulnerabilities contribute to differential rates and types of errors in relation to patient safety, in this case looking at individuals who are homeless. Individuals who are homeless provide a clear exemplar of the way in which social, clinical, professional and organisational factors intersect to increase the risk of harm. The authors of this paper use intersectionality as an analytical framework to address the following: What is the evidence for increased risk of iatrogenic harm to people who are homeless? What are the methods used to estimate that harm? What interventions have been developed to reduce harm and what evidence is there of their effectiveness? Findings from studies conducted internationally are used to inform this discussion.
