SynthesisBMJ open2018
Universal, school-based interventions to promote mental and emotional well-being: what is being done in the UK and does it work? A systematic review.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 47 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
47 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Barriers and facilitators for the implementation of preventative mental health interventions among secondary schools in high-income countries: a systematic review.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Social inequalities in the effects of school-based well-being interventions: a systematic review.European journal of public health · 2025Pooled it
- A systematic review of school-based student peer-led oral health interventions to promote the oral health of school children.BMC oral health · 2023Pooled it
- Efficacy and Effectiveness of Universal School-Based Wellbeing Interventions in Australia: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Components Related to Long-Term Effects in the Intra- and Interpersonal Domains: A Meta-Analysis of Universal School-Based Interventions.Clinical child and family psychology review · 2022Pooled it
- What Works to Improve Wellbeing? A Rapid Systematic Review of 223 Interventions Evaluated with the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scales.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Conceptualisations of positive mental health and wellbeing among children and adolescents in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and narrative synthesis.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2022Pooled it
- Adolescents' Empowerment for Mental Health Literacy in School: A Pilot Study on ProLiSMental Psychoeducational Intervention.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Trial
- A multicomponent secondary school health promotion intervention and adolescent health: An extension of the SEHER cluster randomised controlled trial in Bihar, India.PLoS medicine · 2020Trial
- Small-Scale School-Based Cancer Education to Improve Awareness and Risk Reduction Knowledge Among Adolescents: A Pilot Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Cost-effectiveness of school-based interventions for well-being and mental health literacy of pupils in year 9 in England: AWARE cluster randomised controlled trial.BJPsych open · 2026Article
- The efficacy of an online self-administered single session intervention to promote growth mindset in adolescents: A randomised controlled trial.JCPP advances · 2026Article
- Annual Research Review: Improving school climate to improve child and adolescent mental health and reduce inequalities.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2026Review
- Structural validation of a brief, multidimensional measure of psychological flexibility and inflexibility in adolescence.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Transdiagnostic prevention in youth mental health, Part II: interventions.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Review
- Design and implementation ofFrontiers in psychology · 2026Review
- Optimising the implementation of a universal web-based mental health service for Australian secondary schools: a cluster randomised controlled trial.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2025Article
- Evaluating the Effectiveness of a School-Based Mental Health Training Programme: The Transformative, Resilient, Youth-Led (TRY) Gym.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Beyond Problem-Solving: Homeroom Teachers' Reflective Practice as a Tool for Mental Health Support in Chinese Schools.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThe present review aimed to assess the quality, content and evidence of efficacy of universally delivered (to all pupils aged 5-16 years), school-based, mental health interventions designed to promote mental health/well-being and resilience, using a validated outcome measure and provided within the UK in order to inform UK schools-based well-being implementation.
designA systematic review of published literature set within UK mainstream school settings. DATA SOURCES: Embase, CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PsychArticles, ASSIA and Psychological and Behavioural Sciences published between 2000 and April 2016. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Published in English; universal interventions that aimed to improve mental health/emotional well-being in a mainstream school environment; school pupils were the direct recipients of the intervention; pre-post design utilised allowing comparison using a validated outcome measure. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: 12 studies were identified including RCTs and non-controlled pre-post designs (5 primary school based, 7 secondary school based). A narrative synthesis was applied with study quality check.
conclusionsThe current evidence suggests there are neutral to small effects of universal, school-based interventions in the UK that aim to promote emotional or mental well-being or the prevention of mental health difficulties. Robust, long-term methodologies need to be pursued ensuring adequate recording of fidelity, the use of validated measures sensitive to mechanisms of change, reporting of those lost to follow-up and any adverse effects. Further high-quality and large-scale research is required across the UK in order to robustly test any long-term benefits for pupils or on the wider educational or health system.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.