| الوصف: |
Introduction: Teaching is recognised as a profession with high levels of stress, and experiencing prolonged stress can lead to burnout. The knowledge regarding effective interventions to address burnout among teachers is limited. Mental health literacy can be critical to teachers' well-being and reduce burnout. Aim: The aim is to evaluate the effect of the WhySchool mental health literacy program on Portuguese teachers' burnout. Methods: WhySchool is a mental health literacy program based on a training cascade, in face-to-face and e-learning format, implemented in schools in all regions of Portugal between 2015 and 2016. Burnout is assessed with the Portuguese version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory - Educators Survey (MBI-ES) scale and mental health literacy with the Mental Health Literacy scale developed by EUTIMIA. The study sample comprised 309 Portuguese teachers with a mean age of 47.29 (SD=6.87) years old, and most participants were women (86.1%). The analysis consists of a balance of generalised logistic models, non-linear regressions, decision trees, and linear regressions, describing statistical significance, model fit metrics, and a keen awareness of potential confounding factors. Regarding depersonalisation and personal realisation, a linear regression analysis was conducted with the adjusted R2 describing the variance explained by our predictors. Findings: Significant differences between the pre- and post-intervention scores across all burnout subscales were found. Depersonalisation and emotional exhaustion decreased post-intervention, while personal realisation increased. This suggests the intervention's potential to reduce negative aspects of burnout and enhance positive professional attributes. Conclusion: Empowering teachers through mental health literacy brings potential benefits for reducing burnout and increasing teachers' well-being while enabling them to address potential gaps in students' mental health care. The cascade training model ensures effective dissemination of knowledge. All the burnout subscales showed improved results after the intervention. While knowledge can be improved, translating that knowledge into actionable behaviours or attitudes in real-world contexts requires further exploration. |