EFFECTIVENESS OF CHILD AND ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH EDUCATION ON KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE OF COMMUNITY HEALTH EXTENSION STUDENTS IN THE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE HOSPITAL IBADAN

Abstract

The Burden of mental illness worldwide is unfortunately unmatched by the available specialists trained in caring for the illnesses. Mental illnesses in children contributes a significant part of this unmet need causing distress to both patients and families. The need to equip non-specialists with the requisite training to help them easily identify common mental illnesses in children and adolescents cannot therefore be overemphasized. This study therefore aims to assess the baseline knowledge of community health officers and provide a training intervention on child and adolescent mental disorders as well as measure the effect of the training. Methodology This is a quasi experimental study. Students of two community health training institution were assessed at baseline for their knowledge and attitude on child and adolescent mental health. The intervention group was thereafter taken through an intervention and assessed afterwards. Results There was a significantly low knowledge of respondents at baseline. There were significant improvement in the knowledge and attitude about general information about mental illness in children and adolescents. Attitude towards the management of behavioural disorders like conduct and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Conclusions There is a need to broaden the scope of child mental health training among trainee community health officers