Scoping review finds gaps in mental health awareness and intervention programs for adolescents in South Africa, highlighting the need for better support.
<ns3:p>Background Globally, 10–20% of adolescents face mental health disorders, with 14% affected in South Africa. Despite existing policies and school-based frameworks, significant gaps remain in implementation, particularly in awareness and early intervention. Schools offer a platform for mental health promotion, yet few well-documented, adolescent-focused awareness programs exist. This scoping review aimed to map available scientific evidence on mental health awareness promotion programs targeting adolescents in South Africa. Methodology The scoping review followed Arksey and O’Malley’s framework, and a systematic search was conducted in Sabinet, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, and Wiley Online Library, covering English-language studies published between January 2020 and January 2025. A total of 4881 records were identified, including 20 from manual searches, with 39 articles meeting the inclusion criteria for final synthesis. The study was registered on prospero: CRD420251174673 Results Study findings discovered several programs in South Africa to enhance mental health awareness among adolescents. The Integrated School Health Policy was implemented across all nine provinces which provides comprehensive school health and psychosocial support through collaboration among various stakeholders. The Early Adolescent Skills for Emotions program which targets 10-15 with internalizing disorders like anxiety and depression was implemented in 4 Cape Town schools. In Khayelitsha, the Health Action in Schools for Thriving Adolescent Generation program was implemented to support learners aged 11-15 by fostering thriving school environments and peer support. Despite these efforts, challenges including inconsistent attendance, logistical barriers, insufficient resources, concerns about sustainability, and inadequate school capacity addressing critical learner vulnerabilities were identified. Resulting in the high prevalence of anxiety and depression. Conclusion The review highlights a clear gap in the implementation and evaluation of structured mental health awareness programs for adolescents in South Africa. Strengthening school-based mental health initiatives, training educators, and addressing systemic barriers are essential steps toward improving adolescent mental health outcomes and closing the existing treatment gap.</ns3:p>
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Mahada et al. (2025) studied this question.