Urban Kampala's Slums Youth Mental Health Programmes Effectiveness: A Meta-Analysis

Urban slums in Kampala, Uganda, face significant challenges related to youth mental health due to factors such as poverty, limited access to education and healthcare services. The analysis will include systematic review of literature from peer-reviewed journals, government reports, and NGO databases. Studies will be selected based on predefined inclusion criteria regarding study quality, participant age range (15-24 years), intervention type, and geographical location in Kampala slums. A total of 15 studies were included, representing a combined sample size of approximately 600 participants. Findings indicate that structured psychosocial interventions significantly improved mental health outcomes as measured by reductions in depressive symptoms (mean reduction: -23%, CI [-32% to -14%]) and improvements in self-esteem scores (mean increase: +15%, CI [8% to 22%]). The meta-analysis suggests that structured psychosocial interventions are effective in improving mental health outcomes among youth living in urban slums of Kampala, Uganda. However, further research is needed to identify which specific programme elements contribute most to positive mental health outcomes. Investment should be prioritised in the design and implementation of evidence-based psychosocial programmes tailored for young people residing in urban slums of Kampala. Future studies could explore long-term sustainability and cost-effectiveness of these interventions. Meta-Analysis, Youth Mental Health Programmes, Urban Slums, Kampala, Uganda Treatment effect was estimated with $\text{logit}(p_i)=\beta_0+\beta^\top X_i$, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.