ArticleBMC health services research2018
Exploring MEST: a new universal teaching strategy for school health services to promote positive mental health literacy and mental wellbeing among Norwegian adolescents.
Article in BMC health services research, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07601815 (A Cluster- Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluating the MEST Work Strategy to Improve Health Literacy Among Upper Secondary School Students), which is not on this map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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.
A Cluster- Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluating the MEST Work Strategy to Improve Health Literacy Among Upper Secondary School Students
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 43 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Effect of Digital Mental Health Literacy Interventions on Mental Health: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Pooled it
- Meta-Analysis: The Effectiveness of Universal School-Based Mental Health Programs for Children and Adolescents.JAACAP open · 2026Article
- Nursing Interventions to Promote Health Literacy in Children and Adolescents: A Scoping Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Towards comprehensive mental health literacy: a systematic review of interventions for youth aged 15-24.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2026Review
- Positive mental health literacy and job well-being among palliative care nurses: the mediating effect of job crafting.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- Characteristics of mental health literacy measurement in youth: a scoping review of school-based surveys.Discover mental health · 2024Article
- Mental health literacy and seeking for professional help among secondary school students in Slovakia: a brief report.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Mental health symptoms among Dutch elite athletes and their coaches: a cross-sectional study.BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2024Article
- School Nurses' Experiences of Health Promotion for School-Age Asylum Seekers.The Journal of school nursing : the official publication of the National Association of School Nurses · 2023Article
- The Effectiveness of Mental Health Literacy Curriculum among Undergraduate Public Health Students.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Developing Indicators to Measure Critical Health Literacy in the Context of Norwegian Lower Secondary Schools.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Positive Mental Health Literacy: A Concept Analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Review
- Global Overview of Youth Development: Comparison of the 5 Cs and Developmental Assets Across Six Countries.Frontiers in psychology · 2021Article
- A growing need for youth mental health services in Canada: examining trends in youth mental health from 2011 to 2018.Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences · 2020Article
- Potentials of School Nursing for Strengthening the Health Literacy of Children, Parents and Teachers.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Adolescents' health literacy, health protective measures, and health-related quality of life during the Covid-19 pandemic.PloS one · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMental health among adolescents is an important public health challenge. School health services perform central public health functions in Norwegian municipalities, where school nurses are uniquely positioned to educate and promote mental health among adolescents. MEST (MEST is not an acronym; MEST is a short version of the Norwegian word for coping) is a newly developed universal working strategy for school health services that aims to promote positive mental health literacy (MHL) and mental wellbeing in the adolescent population. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential outcome mean differences in positive MHL and mental wellbeing between adolescents who participated and those who did not participate in MEST over a school year.
methodsThis study is based on cohort data collected from 357 adolescents (aged 15-21 years) in five Norwegian upper secondary schools at the beginning and end of the 2016/2017 school year. The data were analyzed by describing mean scores and estimating the average treatment effect (ATE) of MEST on positive MHL and mental wellbeing.
resultsPositive MHL increased significantly more among the MEST participants compared to the non-MEST participants (p = .02). No significant change in mental wellbeing was found between MEST and non-MEST participants (p = .98). Estimating the ATE of MEST on positive MHL, the MEST participants showed a significant 2.1% increase (p = .04) in the potential outcome mean of positive MHL compared to the nonparticipants. Estimating the ATE of MEST on mental wellbeing, the girls who attended MEST exhibited a significant 9.7% increase (p = .03) in the potential outcome mean of mental wellbeing compared with the girls who did not attend MEST, while no significant change (p = .99) was detected among boys or the entire sample of both genders combined (p = .12).
conclusionThis study found a significant ATE of MEST on positive MHL and on mental wellbeing among girls. The results support further investments in studying MEST as a promising work strategy for school health services to promote adolescent mental health. This initial study of MEST may be used as a foundation for investing in future evaluations of MEST.
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