African Journal of Public Health and Health Systems | 26 July 2000
School-Based Mental Health Care Programmes in Urban Youth Aged 15-20 in Kenya: Four-Year Impact on Engagement and Academic Performance
C, h, e, r, a, g, a, i, M, a, c, h, a, r, i, a, ,, W, a, n, j, i, k, u, M, u, t, e, m, i, ,, M, w, i, h, a, k, i, K, i, o, n, i, ,, K, a, m, a, u, M, u, g, o
Abstract
School-based mental health care programmes have been implemented to address the growing need for support among urban youth in Kenya aged 15-20 years. A comprehensive search was conducted using electronic databases, including PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science. Studies were selected based on predefined inclusion criteria focusing on the effectiveness of school-based mental health care programmes in urban youth aged 15-20 years in Kenya over a four-year period. Findings indicate that student engagement improved by an average of 18% (95% CI: [14%, 22%]) and academic performance saw a notable increase, with students scoring on average 7.6 points higher (p < 0.001) in standardised test scores. The review suggests that school-based mental health care programmes can significantly enhance both student engagement and academic outcomes among urban youth aged 15-20 years in Kenya. Further research should explore long-term impacts and evaluate the sustainability of these programmes, with a focus on replication studies to confirm initial findings. Treatment effect was estimated with $\text{logit}(p<em>i)=\beta</em>0+\beta^\top X_i$, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.