Wellguides – Co-designing a school-based peer-to-peer approach to promoting mental health literacy

Abstract Background The rise of mental health problems among young people is a pressing societal issue. According to the Swiss Health Survey (2022), about 29% of 15-to-24-year-old females and 15% of men in this age reported to be moderately or highly stressed. Thus, approaches to empower young people by improving their mental health literacy are urgently called for. To address this problem, the “Wellguides” project uses a school-based peer-to-peer approach to build young people's competencies concerning mental health promotion, early detection of mental health problems, and available support services. Methods In a participatory co-design process with adolescents and young adults, we developed training materials for: a) the evidence-based contents of the actual “Wellguides” workshop that consists of an input as well as several interactive topic stands with quizzes, online tests, videos, and practical exercises, and b) the train-the-trainer education program that comprises e-learning modules and interactive training units. In a pilot study, we trained eight Wellguides who held nine workshops at grammar and vocational schools. Using a mixed-methods design, we conducted qualitative pre- and post-interviews with the Wellguides (n = 16) and a quantitative online survey of participants before and after the workshop (n = 151). Results The content analyses and statistical evaluation revealed significant improvements in the participants’ and Wellguides’ mental health literacy, particularly regarding perceived self-efficacy in dealing with mental stress, knowledge of support services, and increased willingness to get involved in the mental health of their peers. Conclusions The Wellguides project provides valuable insights into co-designing peer-to-peer approaches, which are a promising strategy for promoting mental health literacy of young people. As work-in-progress, we will present the ongoing co-design of the Wellguides project for university students.