title: Mental health interventions in schools in low-income and middle-income countries.
abstract: Increasing enrolment rates could place schools in a crucial position to support mental health in low-income and middle-income countries. In this Review, we provide evidence for mental health interventions in schools in accordance with a public mental health approach spanning promotion, prevention, and treatment. We identified a systematic review for mental health promotion, and identified further prevention and treatment studies. Present evidence supports schools as places for promotion of positive aspects of mental health using a whole-school approach. Knowledge of effectiveness of prevention and treatment interventions is more widely available for conflict-affected children and adolescents. More evidence is needed to identify the many elements likely to be associated with effective prevention and treatment for children exposed to a range of adversity and types of mental disorders. Dissemination and implementation science is crucial to establish how proven effective interventions could be scaled up and implemented in schools.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, UK. Electronic address: mina.fazel@psych.ox.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Mina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fazel
authors.affiliation: Centre for Global Mental Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK; Centre for Chronic Conditions and Injuries, Public Health Foundation of India, India; Sangath, Goa, India.
authors.forename: Vikram
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.affiliation: United Nations Children's Fund, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Saji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Wietse
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tol