Abstract
BACKGROUND: This study was initiated due to a critical need to explore the inadequately addressed quality of mental health policies for youth in China. With increasing concerns over the mental health of young people, it is imperative to assess the strengths and weaknesses of these policies to suggest significant improvements. METHODS: Employing ROSTCM 6.0 text mining and ATLAS.ti qualitative analysis software, we developed a quality assessment framework based on the Policy Modelling Consistency (PMC) index model. This framework comprises 9 primary and 44 secondary variables, allowing policies to be classified into different levels based on PMC scores, facilitating detailed evaluation of each policy. The policies selected for this study span the period from 2012 to 2023. RESULTS: Our comprehensive review began with 937 documents, eventually narrowed down to 21 key policy texts following a meticulous three-stage screening process. The results indicated a predominance of high-quality policies. The policies demonstrated strengths in areas such as comprehensiveness, inclusiveness, and the breadth of objectives. However, notable weaknesses were observed in aspects like inter-organizational cooperation, responsiveness, and the efficiency of information-gathering tools. CONCLUSIONS: The study concludes that enhancing cross-sectoral collaboration, expediting policy response times, and refining tools for information collection can significantly improve the impact and timeliness of interventions for youth mental health in China.