A Pilot Study to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Nurse-led Program on Mental Health Literacy among Adolescents at a Selected Secondary School of North 24 Parganas District, West Bengal, India

Abstract

Adolescent mental health has emerged as a significant public health concern, with inadequate awareness, persistent stigma, and poor help-seeking practices often delaying early identification and support. This pilot study examined the feasibility and preliminary outcomes of a nurse-led mental health literacy programme implemented among adolescents in a secondary school in North 24 Parganas, West Bengal. A quantitative pre-test–post-test approach was adopted. Baseline assessment was conducted among 42 adolescents, and a subset of 12 participants completed the post-intervention evaluation. Information was collected using structured instruments assessing mental health knowledge, stigma-related attitudes, and help-seeking behaviour. The educational programme was delivered through nurse-led interactive sessions over a period of eight days. Initial findings suggested that many participants had limited understanding of mental health issues, uncertainty regarding stigma-related concepts, and low readiness to seek professional support when needed. Following the intervention, improvements were observed across all assessed domains. Statistical analysis indicated significant positive changes in knowledge, attitudes towards mental health stigma, and help-seeking behaviour. In addition to demonstrating potential benefits, the pilot confirmed the practicality of the study procedures, data collection methods, and intervention delivery within a school environment. These findings indicate that nurse-led mental health literacy initiatives may contribute to enhancing awareness and fostering more positive mental health-related attitudes and behaviours among adolescents. However, the results should be interpreted cautiously because of the pilot nature of the study, the small sample size, the use of a single study setting, the short duration of follow-up, and the difference between pre-test and post-test sample sizes. Moreover, the effectiveness analysis was based on aggregated sub-domain scores rather than participant-level paired observations, which limits the strength of statistical inference. Further research using larger and more representative samples, participant-level analyses, and longer follow-up periods is required to establish the effectiveness and sustainability of the intervention.