Mental Health
Promoting Mental Health Support for Adolescents and Future Health Educators Through Nursing-Led Intervention: A University-School-Community Collaboration Model in Spain.
Open Access: Yes.
Abstract
Objective
This study describes a nurse-led intervention aimed at improving mental health literacy (MHL), reducing stigma, and encouraging help-seeking behaviour.
Design
A quasi-experimental design involved 578 responses ranging in age from 13 to 52 years (M = 20.28, SD = 6.29), including secondary school pupils, nursing undergraduates, and trainee secondary school teachers.
Measurements
Pre- and post-intervention assessments examined a wide range of health indicators. These included six scales assessing mental health knowledge (MHLI), mental health support intentions (MHSSA), body dissatisfaction (EBIC), eating disorder risk (SCOFF), problematic pornography use (PPCS-6), and health-protective sexual communication (HPSC). The intervention focused on reducing stigma, encouraging help-seeking behaviour, and developing practical skills to support peers facing mental health challenges.
Results
Post-intervention results indicated significant improvements in MHL, attitudes, and behavioural intentions across all groups. Adolescents initially exhibited lower baseline scores than university participants. However, both groups demonstrated substantial gains. The most pronounced improvements were observed among women, individuals with prior experience of mental health issues, and university students.
Conclusion
This study underscores the vital role of nurses as facilitators in school-based mental health promotion and in the interdisciplinary education of future health professionals. The nurse-led mental health education into secondary and higher education curricula foster population-wide mental well-being.
Relevance
“The implemented intervention demonstrated a positive impact, reflected by improvements across all standardized scale scores from pre-test to post-test. These results indicate enhanced mental health knowledge, reduced stigma, and increased help-seeking behaviors, alongside effective addressing of risk factors such as problematic pornography use, communication about sexual behaviors, and body dissatisfaction.”
“This study successfully met its primary objective by demonstrating the effectiveness of a nurse-led mental health intervention across varied educational settings in Spain. The programme significantly improved participants’ mental health knowledge, reduced stigma, and promoted positive helping intentions. It also addressed emerging public health challenges, including problematic pornography use, body dissatisfaction, and health-protective sexual communication (HPSC).”
Citation
Alonso Martínez, L., San Pedro Arribas, P., Sánchez-Gutiérrez, M. E., Zabaleta González, R., Nieto González, S., & Sierra Medina, M. J. (2026). Promoting Mental Health Support for Adolescents and Future Health Educators Through Nursing-Led Intervention: A University-School-Community Collaboration Model in Spain. Public Health Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1111/phn.70112
