Mental health literacy for public employees

Although mental disorders are common in the workplace, they often go unnoticed. There is frequently a gap in the recognition and effective management of these disorders, leading to delayed recovery and worsening conditions. This study evaluates the level of Mental Health Literacy (MHL) among employe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	BMC public health Vol. 24; no. 1; pp. 2593 - 9
Main Authors:	Buta, Bernardo Oliveira, Mota, Antônio Cláudio Pimentel, Couto, Vilma V D, Tabak, Benjamin Miranda
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England BioMed Central Ltd 27-09-2024 BioMed Central BMC
Subjects:	Absenteeism Adult Brazil Cancer Cross-Sectional Studies Data analysis Disorders Employees Ethnicity Evaluation Female Financial planning Government Employees - psychology Government Employees - statistics & numerical data Health aspects Health education Health literacy Health Literacy - statistics & numerical data Help seeking behavior Humans Knowledge Literacy Male Medical personnel Mental Disorders Mental Health Mental health literacy Mental health services Mental illness Middle Aged Occupational health Productivity Professionals Psychological aspects Public administration Public employees Public opinion Public policy Public sector Questionnaires Statistical analysis Statistical inference Statistical tests Statistics Survey Surveys and Questionnaires Womens health Work environment Workplace - psychology Workplaces Young Adult Young adults Brazil Mental health literacy Survey Public policy Public administration Mental health
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Summary:	Although mental disorders are common in the workplace, they often go unnoticed. There is frequently a gap in the recognition and effective management of these disorders, leading to delayed recovery and worsening conditions. This study evaluates the level of Mental Health Literacy (MHL) among employees of the Finance and Planning Departments in the Federal District, Brazil, and proposes preventive measures and de-stigmatization strategies for mental health in the workplace. MHL among active employees was assessed using the Mental Health Literacy Scale (MHLS), developed by O'Connor and Casey (2015) and validated for Brazilian Portuguese by Buta et al. (2024). The data analysis included descriptive and inferential statistics, with nonparametric tests used to compare MHL across different groups. The results showed that 27.6% of participants had adequate literacy, 67.9% had problematic levels, and 4.5% had inadequate levels. Women were observed to have higher literacy levels than men. Additionally, significant variations in literacy levels were noted among individuals with different health conditions; those diagnosed with cancer, depression, or other illnesses had higher literacy than those without diagnosed conditions. To address MHL challenges, educational actions such as awareness campaigns, training, and consultancy programs are essential.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	1471-2458 1471-2458
DOI:	10.1186/s12889-024-19937-1