Program news

Main results of the implementation study for the Partners for Life project (May 1999)

Dr. Patricia Garel
Dr. François Maranda
Child psychiatrists, psychiatry program, Sainte-Justine Hospital

The importance of evaluating an awareness program

By Richard Boyer, M.A. (Soc.), Ph.D.

Mental health disorders and suicide are among the greatest public health problems in Canada, Quebec and the world. The World Health Organization has reported that in 2020, major depression will move from being the fourth to being the second most incapacitating illness.  While we have no specific data for Quebec, recent North American studies suggest that 20% of the population has mental health problems in a given year and that almost 30% of the population will suffer from mental health problems during their lifetime.

These problems affect everyone, including the young. For example, the health and social services study conducted by Santé Québec in 1992-1993 showed that 37% of teens aged 15 to 17 showed a high level of psychological distress, while this level of distress was 16% among people 18 and over. This study also showed that teens 15 to 17 report having seriously considered suicide 2.5 times more often than Quebecers 18 and over. Finally, a number of scientific studies, one of them conducted by our team at the Centre de recherche Fernand-Seguin, have shown that major depression was a leading risk factor for suicide. There is therefore reason to believe that better detection and treatment of depression is part of suicide prevention. But people have to know they are suffering from major depression and that there are treatments to ease their suffering.

So there is no doubt that mental health problems affect even young teens, and the Mental Illness Foundation has very effectively targeted this population at risk through its Partners for Life program, which is intended to make high school second cycle teens aware of depression. However, the creation of this sort of awareness initiative must not stop there. This is why the Foundation is committed to evaluating the implementation and effectiveness of Partners for Life. We have therefore begun by analyzing the implementation of this program. The evaluation of the implementation is intended to show that the program is properly implemented and that it does not have negative side effects.

In summary, the implementation study showed that:

•    the Foundation’s activity leaders follow the presentation script, even when time and space are not ideal;
•    93% of students said they understood almost all of the presentation;
•    98% of students rated the performance of the presenters as good to excellent;
•    93% of students recommended the presentation to other classes;
•    students believe that it is important to talk about depression among teens.

The study also helped to show that the educational staff recognizes the relevancy of the information and appreciate the content of the presentation and the quality of the visual and video material. Teachers told us that the Foundation’s message is appropriate for students and that they would recommend the presentation to their colleagues. Finally, regarding overloads in student services, the school professionals told us that they did see a slight increase in consultations after the visit from the Foundation, but that it did not result in a real overload.

The positive results of the implementation study show once more that the Foundation has taken great care to ensure that the Partners for Life tour is productive.


Main results of the impact study conducted during the 1999-2000 school year

A conclusive impact study for the Partners for Life program

By Richard Boyer, M.A. (Soc.), Ph.D.

Objectives 

A second study was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Partners for Life program. This research was conducted by Richard Boyer, Ph.D., at the Centre de recherche Fernand-Seguin, affiliated with the Hôpital Louis-H. Lafontaine and the Université de Montréal. The study had two objectives: to evaluate whether the presentation designed by the Foundation successfully provided teens with new knowledge about depression and whether it changed their attitudes so that they would turn to the services available at their school.

Methodology

The study was designed to compare two groups of students. The experimental group was assessed twice, i.e. before and after the presentation. The comparison group was also measured twice, without having attended the participation. The two groups were made up of grade 9 and 10 students. Ten classes were selected from five schools. The experimental group was made up of 197 students, and the comparison group was made up of 88 teens. The two groups studied were comparable as to the proportion of girls and boys and the average age. The participation rate when measurement took place was 89%. The knowledge and attitudes of the students were evaluated using a questionnaire specially designed for the study. The questionnaire precisely followed the content of the presentation and contained 17 questions about knowledge and 11 questions about attitudes.

Results

The study revealed that the experimental group made up of students who attended the Foundation’s presentation scored better on the knowledge and attitude test than the comparison group that did not attend the presentation before the test. For example, 90% of students in the experimental group obtained a score of 60% or higher, while only 27% of the comparison group achieved such scores. On average, the experimental group scored 74% versus only 51% for the comparison group. More specifically, the study showed that teens who had attended the Foundation’s presentation were better informed about what depression among teens is, as they had higher scores for 15 of the 17 specific notions of the presentation. The presentation enabled, among other things, to pass on to teenagers the following knowledge:

•    Depression is an illness and teens can suffer from it;
•    Depression is not a character weakness; 
•    Depression is one of the major causes of suicide among teens;
•    Teen problems with depression cannot be solved among friends without outside help.

Furthermore, students in the experimental group had better results for eight of the 11 attitudes about using professional assistance services for depression-related needs, including: 

Teens who attended the presentation now recognize:
•   that they should not wait to consult a health care professional if they or someone else shows symptoms of depression;
•    that they can help their friend get help if needed;
•    that they should not keep a friend’s plan to commit suicide a secret;
•   where to get help for themselves or their friends.

Summary 

In conclusion, the results of this study enable us to assert that the presentation developed by the Foundation increased the knowledge of teens about depression and changed their attitudes to allow them to consult the necessary resources. Furthermore, the Foundation’s study identified areas of knowledge and attitudes that are more difficult to pass on to teens, so that it can modify the content and the presentation strategy to better inform teens about this mental health problem that has long been neglected.