Randomised controlled trials (RCTs), non-randomised controlled trials and pre/post studies that evaluated the effectiveness of educational interventions aimed at reducing stigma and increasing awareness of mental health problems with young people were eligible for inclusion. Participants in educational interventions could include medical, nursing and psychology students. Interventions could be conducted in schools, classes, sessions, lectures, colleges and universities. Evaluations of national and media campaigns were excluded, as were whole course curriculums and compulsory tasks and mental health interventions combined with other health or social educational interventions. Studies of young people with adults and studies that only assessed participants views following the intervention were excluded.
Three categories of intervention were included: contact condition, which provided participants the opportunity to meet people with mental health problems; video-based contact condition, which included any media describing people with mental illness; and educational condition, which only included a presentation by professionals and did not include either contact or video-based contact condition. Comparison groups were given another form of educational intervention to the intervention group. Participants in control groups either had no or other educational intervention not related to mental health problems.
More than half of the studies included participants who were university or college studies; most of the other studies included children or adolescents aged younger than 18 in school. One study included school and college/university students. Outcomes assessed included changes in actual behaviour, attitudes, awareness, knowledge and social distance or acceptance.
The authors did not state how many reviewers selected studies for inclusion.