me_HeLi-D: Mental Health Literacy and Diversity. Enhancing Mental Health and Resilience through digital Resources for Youth.
▶Summary
The project aimed to develop and evaluate an appealing, evidence-based and freely available online program for 12-15-year-old students to strengthen their mental health literacy, resilience and p...
▶Objectives
The project aimed to develop and evaluate an appealing, evidence-based and freely available online program for 12-15-year-old students to strengthen their mental health literacy, resilience and personal resources. By creating the program in a participatory manner with students and teachers from partner schools, we aimed to make it relatable, playful and sensitive to the diversity and needs of the students. We sought to address gaps in existing digital programs, which often lack adaptivity or accessibility. The main objective was to empower students to play an active role in caring for their mental well-being and reduce the barriers to seeking help. Specific goals included creating differentiated content (two levels of complexity), ensuring the design was user-friendly and accessible, and making the program adaptable to students’ needs. We expected the intervention group to show improvements in knowledge, well-being, stress reduction, mindfulness, and help-seeking behavior. By combining students’ voices with scientific evidence, the project aimed to expand the landscape of universal digital school-based prevention programs.
▶Activities
An evidence-based, iterative, and participatory approach to program development was implemented. Two systematic literature reviews provided the foundation for subsequent steps. Based on this, two participatory face-to-face workshops at partner schools were held: #1 focused on program design, #2 on content development, incl. storyline creation. Parallel activities included screening measures and knowledge tests, working group meetings (Annex 3), validation checks, and back-translation. Based on this, we developed, translated and differentiated the program content, comprising two thematic modules, embedded in the storyline and framed by an introductory module (M0). For technical implementation, 30 technical meetings were held (Annex 3), external experts consulted, and ethical approval obtained. A pilot study was conducted. Activities related to the intervention study included the development of a teacher manual, recruitment activities, webinars for teachers and schools, and information letters.The study (cRCT) involved pre-tests, the intervention, and post-tests. Results are documented in technical and evaluation reports.