Mental health awareness programs to promote mental well-being at the workplace among workforce in the low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review study

Abstract

An overview of the nature of mental health awareness programs among workforces in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) is lacking significantly in literature. Such understanding is crucial for the employers, government agencies, and other stakeholders to develop and initiate strategies promoting mental health and wellbeing at the workplace. The main aim of this study is to conduct a scoping review to systematically map the research that has been done in this area, as well as to identify any existing gaps in knowledge. Methods A comprehensive search strategy for the articles published between 2000 and 2022 was conducted in MEDLINE, PubMed, EBSCOhost, Wiley online library, Cochrane, and JSTOR. Various study designs such as randomized control trials, non-randomized control trials, systematic reviews, scoping reviews, and observational studies that report evidence on mental health awareness programs among workforce in LMICs were identified through specific strategy. Search outcomes were exported to Endnote and duplication of studies was removed. From the list of included studies, data such as characteristics of mental health programs, common outcome measures and domains, and motivations underlying the establishment of existing mental health awareness programs was extracted and analyzed Results The study findings showed that a little array of mental health awareness programs have been employed at the workplace, and for the few that has employed, it is as a result of employee wellbeing, burden at the workplace and due to psychological stress at the workplace. Most of the articles identified were cross-sectional studies, none of them was an intervention study. The study's findings further showed that there were just six articles that specifically addressed workforce mental health awareness initiatives in LMICs. Only two of these articles—Jnaneswar & Sulphey, 2021; Selamu et al., 2020—used qualitative methods, and the remaining four—Nabawanuka & Ekmekcioglu, 2021; Charoensukmongkol & Phungsoonthorn, 2020; Joshua King Safo Lartey et al., 2021—used quantitative methods.