School professionals committed to student well-being

The northern provinces of Finland are mostly not densely populated, with long distances to healthcare services. This creates a challenge for how to reach all children and adolescents with mental health services. In order to assess the effectiveness of school-based mental health promotion interventio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International Journal of Circumpolar Health
Main Authors: Anna Onnela, Tuula Hurtig, Hanna Ebeling
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2021.1873589
https://doaj.org/article/f69b2de0ac7e433884fae4b9bbf64ec4
Description
Summary:The northern provinces of Finland are mostly not densely populated, with long distances to healthcare services. This creates a challenge for how to reach all children and adolescents with mental health services. In order to assess the effectiveness of school-based mental health promotion interventions, it is essential to understand the views of school professionals on student well-being and mental health promotion activity in schools. This study was carried out in urban area comprehensive schools where psychiatric nurses delivered additional mental health promotion interventions. The data were collected using a questionnaire, and a mixed-methods approach was utilised in the analysis. School professionals perceived that students are more unwell than before; they exhibit a general disregard for their well-being and more mental health problems. The respondents regarded the promotion of students’ mental health as a basic function of schools. Teachers need adequate support with this work.