Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27553955›Full record

SynthesisBMC psychiatry2016

Measurement properties of tools measuring mental health knowledge: a systematic review.

Yifeng Wei, Patrick J McGrath, Jill Hayden, Stan Kutcher

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC psychiatry, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 57 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
57citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

57 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Trial
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Help-seeking behavior among college students with suicidal ideation: barriers, facilitators, and social actors.Psicologia, reflexao e critica : revista semestral do Departamento de Psicologia da UFRGS · 2026
    Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Development and Psychometric Evaluation of a Measure of Mental Health Literacy in Parents of Adolescents.Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry = Journal de l'Academie canadienne de psychiatrie de l'enfant et de l'adolescent · 2025
    Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. [Measuring health literacy: methods and tools for assessing general health literacy in adults].Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz · 2025
    Review
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Yifeng WeiSun Life Financial Chair in Adolescent Mental Health team, IWK Health Centre, 5850 University Ave., P.O Box 9700, Halifax, NS, B3K 6R8, Canada. Yifeng.wei@iwk.nshealth.ca.ORCID 0000-0002-4349-515X
Patrick J McGrathIWK Health Centre, Nova Scotia Health Authority and Dalhousie University, 5850 University Ave., P.O Box 9700, Halifax, NS, B3K 6R8, Canada.
Jill HaydenCentre for Clinical Research, Room 403, 5790 University Avenue, Halifax, NS, B3H IV7, Canada.
Stan KutcherSun Life Financial Chair in Adolescent Mental Health team, IWK Health Centre, 5850 University Ave., P.O Box 9700, Halifax, NS, B3K 6R8, Canada.

Funding

CIHR
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMental health literacy has received great attention recently to improve mental health knowledge, decrease stigma and enhance help-seeking behaviors. We conducted a systematic review to critically appraise the qualities of studies evaluating the measurement properties of mental health knowledge tools and the quality of included measurement properties.

methodsWe searched PubMed, PsycINFO, EMBASE, CINAHL, the Cochrane Library, and ERIC for studies addressing psychometrics of mental health knowledge tools and published in English. We applied the COSMIN checklist to assess the methodological quality of each study as "excellent", "good", "fair", or "indeterminate". We ranked the level of evidence of the overall quality of each measurement property across studies as "strong", "moderate", "limited", "conflicting", or "unknown".

resultsWe identified 16 mental health knowledge tools in 17 studies, addressing reliability, validity, responsiveness or measurement errors. The methodological quality of included studies ranged from "poor" to "excellent" including 6 studies addressing the content validity, internal consistency or structural validity demonstrating "excellent" quality. We found strong evidence of the content validity or internal consistency of 6 tools; moderate evidence of the internal consistency, the content validity or the reliability of 8 tools; and limited evidence of the reliability, the structural validity, the criterion validity, or the construct validity of 12 tools.

conclusionsBoth the methodological qualities of included studies and the overall evidence of measurement properties are mixed. Based on the current evidence, we recommend that researchers consider using tools with measurement properties of strong or moderate evidence that also reached the threshold for positive ratings according to COSMIN checklist.

Indexed as

Health Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticeMental HealthChecklistHealth LiteracyHelp-Seeking BehaviorHumansPsychometricsReproducibility of ResultsSocial StigmaMeasurement toolsMental health knowledgeMental health literacyPsychometricsSystematic review

Identifiers

PMID27553955
PMCPMC4995619

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.