Public school teachers’ perceptions about mental health

OBJECTIVE To examine public school teachers’ perceptions about general health and mental health, and the way in which they obtained this information. METHODS Qualitative research was conducted with 31 primary and secondary school teachers at a state school in the municipality of Sao Paulo, SP, Southeastern Brazil, in 2010. The teachers responded to a questionnaire containing open-ended questions about mental health and general health. The following aspects were evaluated: Teachers’ understanding of the terms “health and “mental health,” the relevance of the need for information on the subject, the method preferred for obtaining information, their experience with different media regarding such matters, and perceptions about the extent to which this available information is sufficient to support their practice. The data were processed using the Qualiquantisoft software and analyzed according to the Discourse of the Collective Subject technique. RESULTS From the teachers’ perspective, general health is defined as the proper physiological functioning of the body and mental health is related to the balance between mind and body, as a requirement for happiness. Most of the teachers (80.6%) showed great interest in acquiring knowledge about mental health and receiving educational materials on the subject. For these teachers, the lack of information creates insecurity and complicates the management of everyday situations involving mental disorders. For 61.3% of the teachers, television is the medium that provides the most information on the topic. CONCLUSIONS The data indicate that there is little information available on mental health for teachers, showing that strategies need to be developed to promote mental health in schools.

研究目标：本研究旨在探究公立学校教师对总体健康与心理健康的认知，以及其获取此类相关信息的途径。
研究方法：本研究于2010年在巴西东南部圣保罗州圣保罗市的一所公立学校开展，共招募31名中小学教师参与质性研究。教师们需填写一份包含总体健康（general health）与心理健康（mental health）相关开放式问题的调查问卷。本次研究评估的维度包括：教师对“健康（health）”与“心理健康（mental health）”这两个术语的理解、获取该主题相关信息的必要性程度、偏好的信息获取渠道、教师接触各类相关信息媒介的经历，以及对现有信息是否足以支撑其教学实践的认知程度。研究数据采用Qualiquantisoft软件进行处理，并依托集体主体话语（Discourse of the Collective Subject）分析技术开展编码与分析。
研究结果：在教师群体的认知视角中，总体健康被定义为机体生理功能的正常运转，而心理健康则与身心平衡息息相关，是获得幸福感的必要前提。超八成教师（80.6%）对学习心理健康相关知识及获取该主题的教育材料表现出浓厚兴趣。此类教师普遍认为，相关信息的匮乏会引发职业不安全感，且使日常处理涉及精神障碍的各类教学情境变得更为复杂。61.3%的教师表示，电视是获取该主题相关信息的最主要媒介。
研究结论：研究数据表明，面向教师群体的心理健康相关信息供给十分匮乏，亟需制定相关策略以在校园中推广心理健康服务与教育。