ORIGINAL: Assessment of School Counsellors' Knowledge and Attitude Towards Mental Illness and Suicide: A Pre-Intervention Survey

West Afr J Med. 2024 August; 41(8): 879-885 PMID: 39737481

Abstract

Background and objectives: School counsellors, who should be able to help students with mental health problems, often struggle to identify and refer individuals with mental health challenges due to poor mental health literacy. This study aimed to evaluate school counsellors' knowledge and attitudes towards mental illness and suicide.

Methods: This was a pre-intervention mixed-method survey conducted among University of Ilorin counsellors using questionnaire and key-informant interviews to assess sociodemographic variables, prior mental health training, knowledge of mental health problems, and attitudes towards mental illness and suicide. Data was analyzed using IBM Statistical Product and Service Solution (SPSS) version 26.0 and thematic analysis.

Results: The mean age of respondents was 49 ± 7.26 years. The majority (70%) were female, 60% of whom had master's degree. All 10 respondents had encountered students with mental health symptoms. Majority (80%) referred students with mental health symptoms to the school clinic. Identified risk factors for mental illness among students were interpersonal relationships, financial problems, medical problems, and academic stress. Only one respondent felt confident in assessing suicide risk and knew of local resources that could be used. All respondents identified the need for regular training to improve their skills.

Conclusions: Findings showed markedly poor awareness of symptoms of suicidal behaviour, including poor knowledge of first aid skills to help students with suicidality. It is hoped that these findings will help in developing mental health training programs for university counsellors.