Este projecto é uma ferramenta para a acção educativa de acordo com os princípios da promoção da saúde e da prevenção de doenças mentais, que é apropriada para intervenções em contexto escolar, e que se adequa aos conteúdos, necessidades, experiências e expectativas do público-alvo, utilizando várias metodologias de intervenção (ex: grupos de foco). O objectivo principal deste projecto é a criação de um site de internet para aumentar os níveis de literacia em saúde mental, para os adolescentes e jovens entre os 15 e 22 anos de idade que frequentam escolas que pertencem à DREC. Os objectivos da intervenção são o reconhecimento cresente dos distúrbios mentais, comportamentos de procura de ajuda associados, e o combate do estigma e da discriminação relativamente aos doentes mentais. Este processo será realizado nas áreas da depressão, consumo de substâncias, ansiedade, distúrbios alimentares e psicose.
This is a school-based intervention program addressed to adolescents and young and uses the Internet as main intervention strategy, specifically an interactive website built on the basis of scientific evidences and characteristics of the target audience.
Now days, Internet is the privileged source of contents related to health and mental illness. However, many of the available contents are not scientific authenticated, and do not ease help-seeking behaviors and, sometimes, even perpetuate stigma and stereotypes.
The promotion of mental health literacy, defined as “the knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders which aid their recognition, management or prevention, i. e., necessary for appropriate health decision-making” (Jorm et al., 1997) has been neglected especially in Portugal. In other countries, such as Canada, Australia, Scotland, England, programs such as «beyondblue», «First Aid», «Defeat depression» or even «MindMatters» have produced reasonable and acceptable results. In Portugal, the problems related to mental disorders are the same as in other countries. However, there has been a lack of political and educational will to focus human, scientific and material resources and develop such a program including both the education and health sectors.
Some of the benefits of this type of intervention are: the access to a powerful tool of content transmission; the fact that it covers all recurrent disorders observed in this groups and that are not included in the health education programs; that it offers a wide network of resources and contents in the area of health promotion/prevention of diseases and fight against stigma and stigma and discrimination; and that is available for education and health professionals and families.
The methodological tools are centered in two dimensions: a) Study and evaluate mental health literacy and stigma/discrimination public’s perceptions associated to mental ill and illness in terms of perceived prevalence and recognition of mental disorders; perceived causes; attitudes towards treatment and recovery; conceptions about mental illness, stigma and perceptions of dangerousness; beliefs about protecting/promoting Mental health; perceived linkages between mental and physical health; b) Design web contents of mental disorders and resources about mental health literacy in the areas of depression, substance use, anxiety, eating disorders and psychosis. The program contents which will constitute the interactive platform will be elaborated by the research team, health professionals and teachers, taking into account the contents and strategies to be used, integrating the scientific contents inherent to mental health and psychiatrists and combining both the health education strategies and the literacy assessment results.
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01/01/2011
Em desenvolvimento
Well-being and Health Promotion