Paper Title
MENTAL HEALTH LITERACY AMONG EDUCATORS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NAIROBI COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract
There is an increasing number of mental health challenges faced by Kenyan secondary school students. The Mental Health Policy (2015–2030) by the Ministry of Health in Kenya highlights the importance of promoting awareness on mental health, early intervention and prevention strategies in the education sector. Educators are often the first to notice mental health issues among students, but many lack the necessary mental health knowledge, positive attitudes, and confidence to effectively address them. Despite the strategic positioning of educators to identify and respond to student mental health challenges, there is limited research on the level of mental health literacy among educators in urban school settings. Therefore, this study will assess the level of mental health literacy among educators in secondary schools in Nairobi County, Kenya. social cognitive theory (SCT) and theory of planned behaviour (TPB) will guide the study. The knowledge, attitudes and confidence of educators in identifying and managing student mental health concerns will be explored using a descriptive research design. To ensure representation from both public and private schools, stratified sampling will be used. Structured questionnaires will be used to collect data which will be analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. This study is significant since it will provide educational stakeholders and policymakers with information about the current mental health literacy of educators. Moreover, the findings will inform the development of targeted mental health training programs and will help to integrate mental health education into teacher professional development. The study will ultimately work to improve school based mental health support systems and student well being as well as academic outcomes. Keywords - Mental Health Literacy,Educators,Students