ADOLESCENT WORKSHOP ON MENTAL HEALTH IN TANZANIA

During the January DASH Network meeting in Dar Es Salaam, members had the privilege of visiting Salma Kikwete Secondary School. Ten enthusiastic students aged 15 to 18 volunteered to explore a potential intervention for boosting mental health literacy. The intervention involved a Swahili translation of the comic book "Let’s Talk About It," originally crafted by the Cartoon Studies Lab for the Ohio State Department of Health (see the link to the full comic book here). Dr. Azan Nyundo, a Psychiatrist and Researcher at the University of Dodoma, ensured the fidelity of the translation.

The students' feedback yielded valuable insights:

• The students expressed that they were unaware of the the symptoms of depression, especially the symptoms of a change of appetite and issues sleeping. 
• The students had favorable connotations of the rabbit, most had seen a rabbit in real life and described their general thoughts on rabbits as “cute”, “good”, and “not scary"
• Students had many follow-up questions regarding the causes of depression, what they should do if they think a family member or friend has depression, and what someone can do to improve depression symptoms. 
• Students shared that a comic book instead of a flyer with only written text seems much more appealing, especially for younger adolescents.

Encouraged by this positive reception, the DASH team has translated and validated the 'Let’s Talk About Anxiety' section. Plans are underway to administer both sections to hundreds of adolescents in Tanzania. Additionally, other partner sites in the DASH project are keen on adopting this approach, with efforts ongoing to ensure accurate translations and local validation by mental health experts. This initiative holds promise for expanding mental health literacy among adolescents across sub-Saharan Africa.