Coded Essays on Young People’s Understanding of Mental Health: De-identified Data from a Secondary School Essay Competition from rural Kilifi, 2023

This dataset contains de-identified, qualitatively coded data derived from essays submitted to a mental health essay competition held across schools in Kilifi, Kenya, . Participants were students who wrote essays exploring mental health topics including definitions of mental health and mental illness, causes and effects of mental health problems, promoters of good mental health, myths, and community practices. The essays were analyzed using a structured coding matrix organized by these themes. Data is presented in Excel format. The dataset was created in 2023 with essays collected between February and May.