Feasibility study on the mhGAP-IG as a tool to enhance parental awareness of symptoms of mental disorders in lower primary (6-10 year old) school-going children: Towards inclusive child mental health services in a Kenyan setting

Abstract

Aims: (1) To determine the feasibility of involving parents as key partners in school mental health activities; (2) to determine whether educating parents on mental health treatment Gap Intervention Guideline (mhGAP-IG) section on children leads to enhanced parent perception of mental health symptoms in their children; and (3) to determine context appropriate social demographic predictors of the parental awareness following the psychoeducation using the mhGAP-IG children version.

Methods: Consenting parents completed the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) and the Brief Problem Monitor for Parents (BPM-P) about their children at baseline and at 6 months post-baseline respectively. Immediately after post-baseline, they received psychoeducation on the importance of mental well-being in children and how to recognize symptoms of mental disorders, using the mhGAP-IG section on children. This psychoeducation was the intervention between baseline and 6 months post-baseline. We analysed means of mental disorder symptoms and prevalence of the various mental syndromes/problems on the CBCL/BPM-P scores to determine the statistical significance of the changes between baseline and 6 months.

Results: Overall, there was significant increase (P < 0.05) in the symptoms mean scores and prevalence of syndromes/problems between baseline and 6 months post-psychoeducation. However, there were some differences between urban and rural settings and in some parents and children socio-demographics and gender that should be considered in individual cases.

Conclusion: It is feasible to include parents in school mental health programmes as key stakeholders. The mhGAP-IG section on children is a good tool for psychoeducation. However, there are predictors of outcomes that need further research.