Blog #5 (Third round of research) How can new mental health promotion strategies be designed for students, and where would they have the greatest impact?

Mental health promotion strategies that involve students in the making of school health programs are more effective. This is because student participation helps support match students’ needs and interests. Research on school health promotion shows that one of the key ways to engage students is to share the development between adults and students. Doing this by having students help decide priorities, reflect on health concepts, and take action in ways that matter to them. This approach increases student voice and makes programs feel more relevant, which improves impact that it has. (1)

Another important thing is that mental health promotion has the best impact when it is put into everyday school life instead of being a one-time event where the school goes all out. Short regular classroom activities, mental health lessons, and wellbeing check-ins help normalize mental health conversations. Whole-school approaches where teachers, counselors, and staff are trained to support student wellbeing, often reach more students and create safer environments than isolated workshops. Consistency and repetition make the strategies way more effective over time. (2)

Access and convenience also strongly affect impact. Supports placed in schools, such as counseling services, peer support clubs, and mental health resource centers, are used more often because students do not have to search for help on their own. Trusted spaces like classrooms, student centers, and extracurricular programs are shown to be way more high impact locations for mental health promotion. This is because students already feel comfortable there. Apps and text resources can also help increase access when added with real life support systems. (3)

Thank you for reading!

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Sources:

1. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12889-025-22121-8
2. https://www.unicef.org/reports/promoting-and-protecting-mental-health-schools-and-learning-environments
3. https://www.cdc.gov/mental-health-action-guide/about/index.html