School-Based Mental Health Support Services for Adolescents in Urban East African Slums: An Intervention Study in Mauritius

Adolescent mental health issues are prevalent in urban East African slums, where access to support services is often limited. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of school-based interventions in providing such support. A mixed-methods approach was employed, including pre- and post-intervention surveys for quantitative data collection. Qualitative interviews were conducted to explore participants' perceptions of the intervention's effectiveness. Analysis revealed a significant decrease in depression symptoms among students who participated in the intervention compared to those in control groups (p < 0.05). Themes identified included improved social support networks and enhanced coping mechanisms. The school-based mental health intervention was effective in improving adolescent mental health outcomes, with notable reductions in depressive symptoms. Further studies should be conducted to replicate these findings across different urban East African slums and explore long-term impacts of such interventions. Adolescents, Mental Health, Intervention Study, School-Based Support, Mauritius Treatment effect was estimated with $\text{logit}(p_i)=\beta_0+\beta^\top X_i$, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.