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Contact Information:

Miss Helen Brierley
+44 (0)161 3066000
helen.brierley@manchester.ac.uk


Dr Helen Brooks
+44 (0)7837471975
helen.brooks@manchester.ac.uk


Dr Jack Wilkinson
+44 (0)161 3066000
jack.wilkinson@manchester.ac.uk


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Be Part of Research - Trial Details - Improving mental health literacy among children and young people aged 12-14 years in the United Kingdom
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Improving mental health literacy among children and young people aged 12-14 years in the United Kingdom

Not Recruiting

Open to: All Genders

Age: Child

Manchester

Medical Conditions

Improvement of mental health literacy

This information is provided directly by researchers and we recognise that it isn't always easy to understand. We are working with researchers to improve the accessibility of this information.


Mental health problems are estimated to affect 10-20% of children and adolescents worldwide. Research shows that the prevalence of depression rises sharply after puberty and that over half of depressed adolescents have a recurrent episode within five years. Mental health literacy can be defined as knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders which help people to prevent, recognise and manage problems. We know that low levels of mental health literacy significantly increase the risk of adolescents developing moderate to severe depression and that improving mental health literacy may be a useful way to reduce the future burden of depression amongst young people.

We have co-adapted with young people, parents, professionals and other stakeholders an existing digital application (the intervention), originally developed for young people aged 11-15 years in Indonesia to improve mental health literacy and self-management skills, for use in the UK with young people aged 12-14 years. We have also co-designed an additional third book for the application, designed specifically for young people in the UK.

The study aim is to determine the feasibility of delivering and evaluating the use of the digital application in education and community settings in the UK. We will explore how many young people want to take part in our study, how much they use the intervention and what sort of follow-up data they are willing to provide. We will also speak to young people about their experiences with the intervention. We will use these findings to collaboratively design a larger study to explore the costs and impacts of the intervention.

Start dates may differ between countries and research sites. The research team are responsible for keeping the information up-to-date.  

The recruitment start and end dates are as follows:

01 Jul 2022 31 Jan 2023

The study will take place over a 3-month period at four study sites across Greater Manchester (two schools and two community venues). The sites will be initially approached through existing contacts of the study team. Ten young people aged 12-14 years will be recruited at each site.

To test the feasibility of the digital application, a cluster randomised control trial will be used. In this study, an equal number of clusters (two per arm) will be allocated to the intervention and control arms. The young people in the intervention arm will have access to the digital application and the young people in the control arm will not have access to the digital application. Following recruitment and the completion of demographic and baseline questionnaires at all sites, randomisation will then decide which of the two clusters (sites) have access to the intervention. This will be achieved by using a blocked randomisation list. The study statistician will produce the randomisation list. A cluster will not be allocated until the full set of 10 young people has been recruited at that cluster, to prevent allocation bias. The allocation sequence will not be revealed to the other study investigators.

The outcome data will predominantly be self-reported using quantitative questionnaires that measure mental health literacy and other mental health-related measures. At each site, all the young people will complete these questionnaires in a similar timeframe; at baseline, post-intervention (or about a month after baseline for the control group) and follow-up (at 3 months). At the intervention arm sites, we will collect qualitative data through semi-structured interviews/focus groups with young people. This will focus on the experiences of using the application.


Young people aged 12-14 years old, of all genders, attending educational and community settings and with access to a smartphone or tablet

You can take part if:



You may not be able to take part if:


1. Aged under 12 years old and over 14 years old2. Not attending the study sites3. No access to smartphone/tablet


Below are the locations for where you can take part in the trial. Please note that not all sites may be open.

  • University of Manchester
    Oxford Road
    Manchester
    M13 9PL

The possible benefit is that the digital application could help young people learn about their mental health and develop self-management techniques, and the study will help improve the app for future use. The possible risk is that talking and thinking about mental health can be difficult for young people.

Dr Jack Wilkinson
+44 (0)161 3066000
jack.wilkinson@manchester.ac.uk


Miss Helen Brierley
+44 (0)161 3066000
helen.brierley@manchester.ac.uk


Dr Helen Brooks
+44 (0)7837471975
helen.brooks@manchester.ac.uk



The study is sponsored by University of Manchester and funded by National Institute for Health Research.



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Read full details for Trial ID: ISRCTN16116467
Last updated 19 December 2023

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