Developing, Evaluating, Disseminating and Sustaining a School-Based Mental Health Literacy Intervention for Indigenous Youth

Mental health challenges are common and substantial among youth, including Indigenous youth, which may lead to many negative life outcomes when unaddressed. School-based mental health literacy interventions have been identified as a beneficial population health approach to address these challenges, however, this approach is not yet available for Indigenous youth. We will address this significant gap in secondary schools and the community by developing, implementing, evaluating and disseminating a school based mental health literacy intervention for Indigenous youth in Canada. This project will be led by a multidisciplinary team of members from Indigenous communities (e.g., youth, families, Elders, and educators), mental health professionals and researchers, policy makers, literacy experts and researchers. It will apply mixed methodologies of qualitative (e.g., focus groups, storytelling, narratives) and quantitative (prospective cohort study) designs to fulfill the project goals. In year 1, we will apply qualitative methods to conceptualize how the mental health literacy intervention will be built and will start developing the intervention. Meanwhile we will develop a national network of Indigenous organizations to observe and provide feedback on the project deliverables. In year 2, we will complete the creation of the intervention and investigate its impact in Indigenous secondary schools in Nova Scotia, Alberta, Northwest Territory, and British Columbia, applying a longitudinal cohort design (pre-test, post-test and follow-up). Qualitative methods will be applied to revise the intervention. In year 3, we will roll out the intervention and disseminate project results nationally. This project will create a freely available evidence-based school mental health literacy resources for Indigenous youth in order to improve their understanding about mental health and wellness, reduce stigma against mental illness, enhance help-seeking behaviours and other outcomes.