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Article
Publication date: 24 January 2019

Tuuli Kuosmanen, Aleisha M. Clarke and Margaret M. Barry

Evidence on implementing effective adolescent mental health promotion and prevention interventions in the European context is underdeveloped. The purpose of this paper is to…

1503

Abstract

Purpose

Evidence on implementing effective adolescent mental health promotion and prevention interventions in the European context is underdeveloped. The purpose of this paper is to identify evidence-based mental health promotion and prevention interventions for adolescents that have been developed and/or implemented across the school, community and digital settings in Europe. This review also sought to identify the relevant implementation processes in relation to what works, for whom and under what circumstances.

Design/methodology/approach

A narrative synthesis of the evidence was conducted which included two stages: a systematic search of studies assessing adolescent mental health promotion and prevention interventions; and a selection of interventions with the most robust evidence base, using pre-defined criteria, that have been either developed and/or implemented in Europe.

Findings

A total of 16 interventions met the inclusion criteria. The majority of interventions were school-based programmes. The review findings support the delivery of interventions aimed at enhancing young people’s social and emotional learning (SEL) and preventing behavioural problems. Results indicate that the effective delivery of SEL interventions on a school-wide basis could provide an important platform on which other universal interventions such as anxiety and bullying prevention, and targeted depression prevention could be developed in a multi-tiered fashion. There were a limited number of studies providing robust evidence on the effectiveness of suicide prevention, digital and community-based interventions.

Originality/value

This review identifies a number of robust evidence-based promotion and prevention interventions for promoting adolescent mental health. While the interventions have been implemented in Europe, the majority has not been evaluated rigorously and few included detailed information on the quality of programme implementation. Evidence of the effective cross-cultural transferability of these interventions needs to be strengthened, including more systematic research on their implementation across diverse country contexts.

Details

Journal of Public Mental Health, vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5729

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 August 2017

Margaret M. Barry, Aleisha Mary Clarke and Katherine Dowling

The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical perspective on the international evidence on promoting young people’s social and emotional well-being in schools. The challenges…

11115

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical perspective on the international evidence on promoting young people’s social and emotional well-being in schools. The challenges of integrating evidence-based interventions within schools are discussed and the need for innovative approaches to research and practice are considered in order to support more sustainable approaches that can be embedded into the everyday practice of school systems.

Design/methodology/approach

A common elements approach to intervention development and implementation is explored. A case study is presented on piloting this approach with post-primary students, based on consultations with students and teachers concerning their needs in supporting youth social and emotional well-being.

Findings

The integration and sustainability of evidence-based social and emotional skills programmes within the context of whole school systems is far from clearly established. Research on the use of a common elements approach to evidence-based treatment and youth prevention programmes is presented and the application of this method to the development and implementation of social and emotional learning interventions is considered. Preliminary case study findings are presented exploring this approach in school-based intervention development for post-primary school students.

Research limitations/implications

The potential of adopting a common elements approach is considered; however, more rigorous research is needed to identify the most potent strategies for social and emotional skills development.

Originality/value

Identifying a common set of evidence-based strategies for enhancing adolescents’ social and emotional skills could lead to innovative approaches to intervention delivery that would extend the impact and reach of evidence-based practice across diverse educational systems and school settings.

Details

Health Education, vol. 117 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-4283

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 November 2018

Christina Murphy, Margaret M. Barry and Saoirse Nic Gabhainn

School-based programmes face a variety of personal, environmental and organisational challenges to implementation. Stakeholders can provide crucial contextual information to…

Abstract

Purpose

School-based programmes face a variety of personal, environmental and organisational challenges to implementation. Stakeholders can provide crucial contextual information to improve implementation. The purpose of this paper is to explore teachers’ perspectives on implementation through a bottom-up participatory process.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative participatory approach was employed. This comprised groups of teachers theorising and creating schemas of school-based implementation.

Findings

Two schemas were developed. Support, time, training and resources emerged as common components. Students and other educational stakeholders did not feature in either schema.

Research limitations/implications

The schemas were developed by teachers in Ireland. The findings are relevant to that local context and generalisability beyond this may be limited. The developed schemas contain structural and content components that appear in published conceptual frameworks of programme implementation. Thus, there is some correspondence between the views of published theorists and the current sample of teachers, particularly with regard to leadership and teacher motivation. There are also disjunctures that deserve exploration, such as the lack of reference to students.

Practical implications

Participatory schema development could be of particular value to trainers working with educators. The generated schemas provide useful detail on current perspectives, which could be valuable as part of any training process or the pre-planning stages of implementation.

Originality/value

This study describes a straightforward approach to revealing the perspectives of stakeholders that could help school-based implementation processes.

Details

Health Education, vol. 118 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-4283

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2005

Margaret Barry

Public mental health can be described as the science, politics and art of creating a mentally healthy society. This paper discusses these three concepts with reference to the…

Abstract

Public mental health can be described as the science, politics and art of creating a mentally healthy society. This paper discusses these three concepts with reference to the literature as the necessary components of any strategy or programme to create, promote and maintain mental well‐being at a community and population level. It goes on to describe how they were applied in a cross‐border rural mental health project in Ireland.

Details

Journal of Public Mental Health, vol. 4 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5729

Abstract

Details

Reference Reviews, vol. 13 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0950-4125

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2003

Margaret Barry

This paper describes the development of an evaluation framework to document the process, impact and outcomes of a community‐based mental health promotion project. This initiative…

Abstract

This paper describes the development of an evaluation framework to document the process, impact and outcomes of a community‐based mental health promotion project. This initiative, the Rural Mental Health Project, is concerned with the promotion of positive mental health in rural communities in the Republic and Northern Ireland. As a community‐based initiative, this project involves multi‐component interventions that are implemented with diverse target groups across a range of community settings. Assessing the process of programme implementation is critical in order to capture and document the realities of programme planning and implementation. The evaluation approach adopted in this project is based on a logic model research paradigm (Scheirer et al, 1995). This model gives equal emphasis to process and outcome evaluation and seeks to relate the realities of programme implementation to intended programme outcomes. Project activity is tracked prospectively in order to examine the detail of actual programme delivery and its influence on expected project outcomes. This paper outlines the model as applied in this project and explores the methodological and practical challenges in evaluating complex community interventions.

Details

Journal of Public Mental Health, vol. 2 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5729

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2006

Margaret Barry, Colette Reynolds, Anne Sheridan and Róisín Egenton

This paper reports on the implementation and evaluation of the JOBS programme in Ireland. This is a training intervention to promote re‐employment and improve mental health among…

Abstract

This paper reports on the implementation and evaluation of the JOBS programme in Ireland. This is a training intervention to promote re‐employment and improve mental health among unemployed people that was implemented on a pilot basis in the border region of the Republic and Northern Ireland. Programme participants were unemployed people recruited from local training and employment offices and health agencies. The evaluation indicated that the programme was implemented successfully and led to improved psychological and re‐employment outcomes for the intervention group, lasting up to 12 months post‐intervention. This paper reflects on the implementation issues that arose in adapting an international evidence‐based programme to the local setting and considers the implications of the evaluation findings for the roll out of the programme on a larger scale.

Details

Journal of Public Mental Health, vol. 5 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5729

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1999

Margaret Barry, Elaine O'Doherty and Ann Doherty

This paper describes the development of mental health promotion strategies for rural communities in Northern Ireland. The initial phase of a community‐based project targeting…

Abstract

This paper describes the development of mental health promotion strategies for rural communities in Northern Ireland. The initial phase of a community‐based project targeting depression and suicide is examined. The paper brings together practitioner and research perspectives on an analysis of the factors that made this initiative possible and facilitated its development to date. The paper is written in two sections. Section one describes the process and practical experience of planning and implementing the initial phase of the project. Section two reports on the community needs assessment study. The research approach adopted is outlined and the implications of the findings are discussed.

Details

Journal of Public Mental Health, vol. 1 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5729

Article
Publication date: 1 August 2008

Kathryn Meade, Dhammica Rowel and Margaret Barry

This study reports on the evaluation of a youth‐led initiative on the promotion of emotional well‐being among young people aged 16‐25 years. Over a six month period, the Getting…

Abstract

This study reports on the evaluation of a youth‐led initiative on the promotion of emotional well‐being among young people aged 16‐25 years. Over a six month period, the Getting it Together project worked with a group of 12 young people from both the Republic and Northern Ireland in building their understanding of emotional well‐being and developing a youth friendly, needs‐led resource. Employing a mix of research methods, including participatory methods, this evaluation documents the process of actual project development, partnership working and overall experience and the impact of project participation for the young people. Following the development of the resource, its pilot implementation by the peer educators with 58 young people in the region was also evaluated. The evaluation findings indicate that the key objectives of the project were achieved and that it resulted in an intense, positive and productive experience for the participating young people, which enhanced their understanding of emotional well‐being. A resource package was successfully developed and designed with direct input from the young people, and was assessed by their peers to be youth friendly. The young people were successfully trained to deliver the resource to their peers, who assessed very positively both the resource and their experience of the training. The implications of the evaluation findings for developing this peer‐led initiative are discussed.

Details

Journal of Public Mental Health, vol. 7 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5729

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Journal of Public Mental Health, vol. 1 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5729

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