International Journal of Innovative Research in Health Science

Background: Mental health disorders in childhood have a negative impact on the academic performance, behaviour and social development of children, especially hyperkinetic disorders and depression. Methodology: The methodology used in this study was quantitative descriptive; where the population of study was 40 Primary School Teachers of selected schools in Lucknow and those teachers were selected by the technique of Purposive sampling. A pretested and validated structured questionnaire (Cronbach's α = 0.73) was used to collect data. Descriptive data was used to summarise demographic characteristics and levels of knowledge whilst the chi-square test was used to assess the association between knowledge and selected demographic data. Results: More than half (52.5%) suffered from inadequate knowledge, 42.5% of moderate knowledge and 5.0% of adequate knowledge about hyperkinetic and depressive disorders. Most participants were female (85.0%), aged 26–30 years (52.5%), and held a B.Ed. qualification (45.0%). There was a significant association of previous identification of a child with a mental health problem with knowledge level (χ2 = 3.909, p< 0.05), while age, gender, educational qualification, teaching experience, nature of employment and source of information were not significantly associated with the knowledge level (p> 0.05). Conclusions: The level of knowledge about hyperkinetic and depressive disorders as perceived by the Primary school teachers was inadequate. Structured educational programmes are recommended, along with regular training to increase teachers' awareness, improve early identification and referral of children with mental health conditions.