Towards School Mental Health in Nigeria: Baseline Knowledge and Attitudes of Elementary School Teachers

There is a shortage of child and adolescent mental health (CAMH) professionals all over the world, and this shortage is especially critical in most parts of the developing world. Schools have been identified as ideal settings to reach needy children in the community, and training teachers in CAMH issues can help improve early identification and appropriate referrals of children with mental health problems. As part of a needs assessment for developing a training programme, selected Nigerian elementary school teachers were asked to complete confidential questionnaires to determine their perceptions of mental health problems in school children. Teachers indicated that they had no previous CAMH training. Baseline assessments revealed that teachers' knowledge of CAMH was deficient, and attitudes to children with mental health problems revealed intolerance. Incorporation of CAMH care into teacher education curricula is a critical next step towards integrating school teachers as mental health collaborators in school mental health programmes in Nigeria.