African GIS in Urban Planning (Technical/Methodology) | 12 June 2001
Mental Health Campaigns and Peer Support Groups in Urban Youth Centers: Outcomes in Sierra Leone Context
S, o, r, i, e, S, e, s, a, y, ,, K, a, l, l, o, n, K, a, m, a, r, a
Abstract
Mental health issues are prevalent among urban youth in Sierra Leone, necessitating effective interventions such as campaigns and peer support groups. The study employed a mixed-methods approach, including pre- and post-campaign surveys for quantitative analysis, and focus group discussions to gather qualitative insights. Pre-to-post campaign comparisons revealed an increase of 40% in participants' awareness scores regarding mental health issues (mean score: 75 out of 100). Peer support groups significantly enhanced participant engagement and self-reported mental well-being, with a median improvement rate of 25%. Further research should explore scalability and sustainability strategies for these interventions in urban youth settings. Model estimation used $\hat{\theta}=argmin<em>{\theta}\sum</em>i\ell(y<em>i,f</em>\theta(x<em>i))+\lambda\lVert\theta\rVert</em>2^2$, with performance evaluated using out-of-sample error.