Mental health literacy

A Review of the Literature Bourget Management Consulting for the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health November 2004; Updated May 2007 MENTAL HEALTH LITERACY: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Mental Disorders Mental disorders range from mild to severe. [...] A Review of the Literature Bourget Management Consulting for the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health November 2004; Updated May 2007 long-term outcomes of mental disorders and the likelihood of discrimination are generally more negative than those of the lay public. [...] Research on Change Strategies There is some evidence that people who have information about mental illness may be less stigmatizing and more supportive of others who have mental health problems, and a number of change strategies have been applied to enhance the mental health literacy of health professionals and of the public with varying degrees of success. [...] Widening the lens through which people view mental health literacy, to include diverse perspectives and multiple determinants of mental health and mental illness could be the basis for an expanded model, similar to the model for health literacy. [...] SEARCH STRATEGY AND LIMITATIONS OF THE REVIEW Multiple databases were searched for the following terms and combinations of terms: health literacy, mental health literacy and promotion and evaluation; mental illness, depression and stigma, prevention, treatment, public education and campaigns, perceptions, attitudes and attitude change and the media.