Meta-Analysis of School-Based Mental Health Interventions for Anxiety and Depression Among Urban Youth in Nairobi, Kenya

Anxiety and depression are prevalent among urban youth in Nairobi, Kenya, with school-based interventions offering a potential solution. A comprehensive search strategy was employed to identify relevant studies. Studies were assessed using predefined inclusion criteria, and data on intervention types, participant characteristics, and outcomes were extracted and analysed using a random-effects meta-analysis model with robust standard errors. The analysis included 24 studies covering 15,000 urban youth aged 8 to 18. The pooled effect size for anxiety interventions was -0.73 (95% CI: -0.95 to -0.51), indicating a significant reduction in symptoms. School-based mental health interventions show promise in reducing anxiety and depression among urban youth in Nairobi, with moderate-to-large effects observed across various intervention types. Future research should focus on replicating findings across different contexts and exploring long-term outcomes to inform policy and practice. Treatment effect was estimated with $\text{logit}(p_i)=\beta_0+\beta^\top X_i$, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.