Rethinking Mental Health Wellness Among Adolescents: An Integrative Review Protocol of Mental Health Components

Abstract Background: Adolescence have been overlooked in global public health initiatives as this period is generally considered to be the healthiest in an individual’s life course. However, the growth of the global adolescent population along and their changing health profiles have called attention to the diverse health needs of adolescents. However, the increased attention toward adolescent health has accentuated existing gaps as global health reports have emphasised that there is a continued need for valid and reliable health data. In this context, evidence has shown that mental health issues constitute one of the greatest burdens of disease for adolescents. The paucity of research on adolescent mental health and wellbeing may be related to the lack of validated instruments. This integrative review aims to unpack the meaning of mental health wellness among adolescents and its associated constructs by analysing and synthesising peer-reviewed empirical and theoretical research on adolescent mental health. In doing this, we will develop a working definition of adolescent mental health wellness that can be used to develop an instrument aimed at measuring adolescent mental health wellness.Methods: The integrative review is guided by the five steps described by Whittemore and Knafl. A comprehensive search strategy which will include carefully selected terms that correspond to the domains of interest (mental health wellness) will be used to search for relevant literature on electronic databases, grey literature and government or non-governmental organisations (NGO) websites. Studies will be included if they describe and/or define general mental health wellbeing in adolescent populations aged 10-19. The screening and reporting of the review will be conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Data from the integrative review will be analysed using narrative framework synthesis for qualitative and quantitative studies Conclusion: This integrative review aims to search for and synthesise current research regarding adolescent mental health wellbeing to identify how wellbeing is being described and conceptualised. We aim to identify gaps and to contribute to a more comprehensive definition of mental health wellness which can aid in the development of an age- and culturally appropriate measure of adolescent mental health wellness