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The purpose of this study is to systematically review how positive mental health literacy has been conceptualised and measured over the last 20 years. Positive mental health recognises the benefits of feeling good and functioning effectively. Developing clarity around conceptualisation and knowledge (or literacy) of what constitutes positive mental health is an area of continued development, and an important step in measuring the impact of mental health promotion.

A systematic review of literature was performed to investigate how positive mental health literacy has been conceptualised and measured over the last 20 years. Databases searched included EDS, Scopus, ERIC, PsycINFO, CINAHL and SocIndex with fulltext. Search terms relating to positive mental health were combined with proximity operators within four words denoting knowledge, competence or literacy.

A total of 464 records were assessed on title level, with six articles included for final review. The final studies included three measures assessing participants’ knowledge of positive mental health, some of which included more distal themes such as awareness of coping strategies and emotional awareness. One measure, the Mental Health Promoting Knowledge – 10, stood out as the most fitting measure of positive mental health literacy.

Our review approaches an under reported area of study, highlighting an area in need for further development with a few limitations. When building the search strategy, care was taken to line it up with literacy around positive mental health and its synonyms. The word “mental health” without positive specification was omitted in the final search strategy, increasing the risk of it also omitting potential articles of interest.

Our findings therefore highlight a knowledge gap in relation to conceptualisations and measures of positive mental health literacy, unfolding an area for further development. A more harmonised understanding of what is meant by positive mental health is an important step towards clarifying the concept and facilitating future study of the topic. Measures of positive mental health literacy could be an important indicator for mental health promotion.

New ways of measuring positive mental health literacy can be a useful way to establish benefits of mental health promotion, taking a salutogenic approach to mental health.

These findings expose an apparent knowledge gap in relation to conceptualisations and measures of positive mental health literacy, highlighting an area in need for further development. Measures of positive mental health literacy could be an important indicator for mental health promotion.

The purpose of this systematic review is to assess if there is a relationship between literacy abilities and mental health outcomes as reported in global literature. Fourteen percent of the global population has little or no literacy. Literacy skills impact on daily functioning and have been shown to impact on social outcomes. Whilst there has been research examining the potential association between literacy and mental health outcomes in specific populations, there has been no systematic review of this literature to date.

A systematic review was carried out using Embase, PsycINFO and PubMed to identify relevant papers that measured both literacy and mental health. Data relating to the association between literacy and mental health were extracted. The papers included were assessed for quality using a bespoke quality rating tool. A narrative synthesis describes the findings.

Nineteen studies from across nine countries were included in the analysis. Seventeen studies showed a significant association between literacy and mental health, those with lower literacy had greater mental health difficulties. Some papers reported factors that interacted with this association, such as age, gender, poverty and years of education.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first systematic review to look at the global picture of literacy and mental health. It suggests there is a relationship between literacy abilities and mental health outcomes, highlighting the importance of healthcare professionals and services including identification of literacy needs within routine mental health practice.

Since its initial development, numerous mental health literacy (MHL) definitions and associated measures have been created which have yet to be adequately evaluated. This paper aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of global MHL measures with the aim of identifying the most valid, reliable, responsive and interpretable measure.

A systematic review was conducted of studies that evaluated global MHL measures against at least one of the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) taxonomy properties; validity, reliability, responsivity or interpretability.

In total, 13 studies were identified which examined the psychometric properties of 7 MHL measures. Two of these seven measures were vignette format and the remaining five measures were questionnaires. The mental health promoting knowledge-10 and the multicomponent mental health literacy measure were the most psychometrically robust global MHL measures as they had the most psychometric properties rated as adequate. Both were shown to have adequate structural validity, internal consistency and construct validity. The two vignette measures, the MHL tool for the workplace and the vignette MHL measure, were both shown to only have adequate evidence for construct validity.

The current study is the first to systematically review research that evaluated the psychometric properties of global measures of MHL.

The issue of mental health literacy has been widely studied in developed countries, with few studies conducted in Arab countries. In this study we aimed to investigate mental health literacy and attitudes towards psychiatric patients among students of Jazan University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate students using a validated Arabic-version questionnaire. A total of 557 students were recruited from different Jazan university colleges. The majority of students (90.3%) have intermediate mental health literacy. Regarding the etiology of mental illness, students agreed that genetic inheritance (45.8%), poor quality of life (65%) and social relationship weakness (73.1%) are the main causes of mental illness. The majority thought that mentally ill people are not capable of true friendships (52.5%) and that anyone can suffer from a mental illness (49.4%). Students' attitudes towards psychiatric patients were mixed, with 68.7% reporting that they could maintain a friendship with a mentally ill person and that people with mental illness should have the same rights as anyone else (82.5%). Mental health literacy among university students was intermediate. There is an urgent need for health educational programs to change the attitudes of students regarding this important health issue.

There is urgent need to explore medical students’ understandings of mental illness to better support this high-risk group. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate mental health literacy in medical students using the Mental Health Literacy Scale (MHLS), and provide validation of the measure.

In total, 251 participants were recruited from medical schools across the UK. Participants completed demographic details and the MHLS. This paper reports total MHLS scores and their relationships with demographics and experiences with mental illness.

The mean MHLS score was 127.69. MHL was significantly higher in females, and students in later years of study (p<0.05). Over 40 per cent of respondents reported having personal experience of mental illness. This, as well as having a close friend or family member with a mental illness, was associated with higher MHL (p<0.05).

This study is the first to use the MHLS and provide validation of this measure in medical students. Despite high rates of personal experience with mental health issues, medical students’ average MHLS scores were comparable to studies of non-medical student groups. Medical schools should aim to build students’ confidence in recognising and seeking help for mental health issues from the first year of medical training. MHL is a multi-faceted issue; further work is required to improve awareness of risk factors, to better understand why males demonstrate poorer MHL scores than females, and to work towards improving MHL in males.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the mental health literacy (MHL) of British community pharmacists.

A survey instrument was sent by facsimile to a random sample of community pharmacists in England, Scotland and Wales. The survey instrument contained items concerning recognition of the symptoms of depression, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, the helpfulness of a range of interventions, mental health stigma and the degree of comfort providing pharmaceutical care to people with mental health problems.

Among community pharmacists (n=329) symptom recognition was high for depression but lower for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Pharmacists showed a preference for evidence-based interventions and support for psychological therapies and physical activity for all three mental health problems. Pharmacists expressed less comfort providing pharmacy services to people with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and depression than cardiovascular disease. Mental health stigma was higher for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder than depression, with many pharmacists holding misperceptions about schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

The study findings indicate the need for enhanced mental health content in the undergraduate pharmacy curriculum which should challenge misperceptions of mental illness.

This is the first study to investigate the MHL of British community pharmacists.

Mental health training programs exist to assist the public with aiding people experiencing mental distress. This study aims to examine the five steps of the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) ALGEE action plan to assess which steps were used most frequently and how personal characteristics were associated with utilization.

Individuals completing MHFA either at public schools with students ranging in age from 5 to 18 or at a university in the Northern central area of the USA were invited to participate. Prior to MHFA, participants completed an initial questionnaire, which included demographic questions and questions assessing the use of the MHFA ALGEE action plan, which is a plan to provide help to someone experiencing mental distress. Follow-up questionnaires were completed every quarter to assess the ALGEE action plan utilization at three-, six- and nine-months after completion of MHFA. A comparison group of individuals, not completing MHFA, was also included.

After completing MHFA, individuals demonstrated an increase in using the ALGEE action plan at three- and six-months, but by nine-months there was a reduction in utilization. In general, age, gender and race did not usually influence the usage of the ALGEE action plan.

Although other studies have measured the efficacy of MHFA, those studies have focused on participant predicted behaviors. The present study measured self-reported behavior and compared the behaviors to a comparison group over time.

This study primarily aims to evaluate the mental health literacy (MHL) of the Lebanese adult population in an attempt to yield results that can help fill the gap in the literature and support the development of new strategies to counter mental health stigma.

A cross-sectional survey was composed of the Mental Health Knowledge Schedule and select questions from the Community Attitudes toward the Mentally Ill and MHL Scale. The surveys were collected from a representative population of sample size (n = 386) among the different governorates of Lebanon. The participants, aged 18–65 years and literate, were recruited between July 2018 and September 2018 from supermarkets widely distributed across the country.

The results showed that the Lebanese population possesses average knowledge and certain stigmatizing attitudes toward mental illnesses. Curricular education and awareness campaigns may help refine the image of mental illness among the population.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is one of the first in Lebanon to assess the MHL of its population as a whole. It gives insight into the common misconceptions about mental illness and patterns of the related stigma that are prevalent in the Lebanese society today.

Adolescence and young adulthood are recognised as critical time for developing mental health literacy (MHL). The purpose of this study is to analyse the effectiveness of current MHL interventions to guide the future development of MHL intervention strategies.

A meta-analysis adopting the PRISMA framework for systematically reviewing the literature was adopted. Three authors independently reviewed studies and extrapolated key data for analysis. A robust random-effects model with adjustments for small study biases was conducted to establish the effect sizes of all included MHL interventions. Moderator analysis was conducted to examine the effects of intervention length in MHL.

A total of 11 intervention studies were identified and analysed, resulting in a medium to large pooled effect size of 0.62 (95% CI: 0.28; 0.96). Moderator analysis found that short interventions had an estimated standard mean difference (SMD) effect size of 0.9220 (95% CI: −1.1555; 2.9995). This was greater than the medium length interventions, with an estimated SMD effect size of 0.4967 (95% CI: 0.0452; 0.9483), and long interventions, with an estimated SMD effect size of 0.5628 (95% CI: −0.2726; 1.3983). As a result, MHL interventions are proficient in improving young adults’ MHL, with shorter interventions (45–50 min) having the largest effect size. This study highlights several inconsistencies in methodological rigour and reporting from studies in this area, which future research should look to address.

To date, MHL review studies have often focused their attention on a specific domain, most notably education and school-based setting. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no reviews have conducted a meta-analysis across contexts and domains with a specific focus on MHL intervention strategies for young adults.

Knowledge management (KM) implementation is the ideal solution for enhancing employee’s abilities like mental health and performance. This study aims at testing the impact of KM mechanism on personnel’s mental health at the Iran University of Medical Sciences.

The study is a descriptive, correlational and applied one. The library and field studies have been used to collect data through the questionnaire. The proposed model and the data have been analyzed using Smart PLS software. A questionnaire has been conducted by an arbitrary sampling method.

The results have shown that the main factors of KM have a direct, meaningful positive impact on innovation. Besides, the critical parameters of KM success, strategy and process have a significant and direct positive effect on the tendency for knowledge-sharing behavior. Further, the direct relationship of the trend for knowledge-sharing behavior with the mental health of employees has positively been confirmed. The results have also indicated that psychological empowerment has a positive and significant effect on the mental health of employees.

This study has investigated the four parameters (i.e. key factors for KM success, KM strategy, KM processes and psychological empowerment) impacting the knowledge-sharing intention, conduct of the people and the mental health of the employees. Scholars can investigate other personal and organizational parameters such as probable backgrounds of the knowledge-sharing intention, conduct and the mental health of the employees.

These findings will be essential in the understanding of the interplay among various signals in theory and the understanding of patients’ choices in the electronic health (e-health) community in practice. The results have implications for existing health management and e-health literature. The present paper will help policymakers, healthcare executives and project managers to effectively set their operations and make them maintainable, prevent unpredicted obstacles and better allocate their resources. Overall, the result of this paper will guide researchers who are working in the field of e-health.

The findings can develop robust knowledge-sharing platforms and offer insightful suggestions for management practitioners in emerging markets.