Evaluation & Publications

Mental Health First Aid Research

There is a program of research to evaluate the effects of the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training course. So far, the following journal articles have been published.

  1. Uncontrolled trial with the public, 2001
  2. Controlled trial in the workplace, 2002
  3. Controlled trial in a rural area, 2003
  4. Qualitative study of first aiders experiences, 2004
  5. Australian National Survey: Looks at Mental Health First Aid Responses of Public, 2003-2004
  6. MHFA Training: review of evaluation studies, 2005
  7. Overview of the MHFA Training and Research Program, 2006
  8. The international spread of the MHFA Program, 2007
  9. Improving mental health capacity in rural communities, 2008
  10. Description and evaluation of a MHFA program for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, 2009
  11. Enhancing mental health knowledge and skills of agents working with farmers, 2009
  12. Evaluation of Mental Health First Aid training with members of the Vietnamese community in Melbourne, Australia, 2009
  13. Improving football coaches’ recognition and response to mental health problems in others, 2010
  14. Evaluation of Mental Health First Aid training with members of the Chinese community in Melbourne, Australia, 2010
  15. Evaluation of Mental Health First Aid training for high school teachers, 2010
  16. Experiences of instructors delivering the Mental Health First Aid training programme: a descriptive qualitative study, 2010

1. Uncontrolled trial with the public, 2001

The first evaluation study of MHFA was an uncontrolled trial in 2001 with members of the public living in Canberra. This trial examined the effects of the course on knowledge of mental disorders, stigmatizing attitudes and help provided to others. There were 210 participants who were given questionnaires at the beginning of the course, at the end, and at 6 months follow-up. The course was found to produce the following benefits:


Download full report of uncontrolled trial from BMC Psychiatry 2002, 2:10.
http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-244X-2-10.pdf (Opens in new window).

There is also a report of this article in the British Medical Journal 16 November 2002 :
http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/325/7373/1133 (Opens in new window).

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2. Controlled trial of MHFA in the workplace, 2002

Because the first study had no control group, a second trial was conducted in which course participants were compared with a wait-list control group. This randomized controlled trial was carried out in 2002 with employees of two Australian government departments who did the course during their work time. This trial involved 301 participants who were randomized to either participate immediately in a course or to be wait-listed for 5 months before undertaking the training. The trained group improved more than the wait-list control group in the following areas:

The mental health benefits of the course to participants were unexpected because the course does not provide therapy and promises no personal benefits. We think the course may mental health benefits by providing participants with good quality information which allows them to make better choices about their own mental health care.

Download full report of workplace trial from BMC Psychiatry 2004, 4:23. http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-244X-4-23.pdf (107 K) (Opens in new window).

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3. Controlled trial of MHFA with the public in a rural area, 2003

A trial has been carried out with members of the public in a large rural area of New South Wales. This trial was carried out as a partnership between the New South Wales Southern Area Health Service and the Centre for Mental Health Research. In this trial, the catchment area of the Southern Area Health Service was divided into 16 local government areas. Eight of these areas received the course immediately and the other 8 were placed on a waiting list to receive the training later in the year (the controls). There were 753 participants in the trial: 416 of these were in the areas that received the course immediately and 337 were in the control group that was placed on a waiting list to do the course later. People who did the course showed a number of changes relative to the control group:

The course did not change the following:

As a follow-up to this trial, we are currently doing a qualitative study asking participants about their experiences in providing help after doing the course. We want to find out how many people actually used their skills following the course and whether they had good or bad experiences in doing so.

Download full report of this trial from BMC Psychiatry 2004, 4:33. http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-244X-4-33.pdf (Opens in new window).

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4. Qualitative study of first aiders’ experiences, 2004

People who have completed the Mental Health First Aid course often tell stories about how they have used their first aid skills to help someone.  These stories are particularly interesting because they tell about the effects of the first aid on the person helped. In order to systematically analyze such stories, 131 former course participants were approached 19-21 months following the course and asked to complete a questionnaire about their experiences. 94 of these people responded. It was found that 78% had used their first aid skills. Many positive effects were reported, including increased empathy and confidence and being better able to handle crises. There was no evidence that people were over-reaching themselves because of over-confidence. Participants were very positive about the benefits of the course and keen to see it repeated and extended.

Download full report of this study from BMC Psychiatry 2005, 5:43
http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-244X-5-43.pdf (Opens in new window).

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5. Australian National Survey Looks at Mental Health First Aid Responses of the Public, 2003-2004

A national survey of 4000 Australian adults has examined how they would respond to someone they know and care about who has a mental disorder. Survey participants were given a description of a person with either depression or schizophrenia and asked what they would do to help the person. Many people said they would listen to the person and encourage professional help-seeking. However, a significant minority did not even mention these basic first aid strategies. Few said they would contact a professional on the person's behalf or accompany them to a professional. Mental health first aid responses were generally more appropriate in women than men, and in participants with less stigmatizing attitudes. Participants who could correctly recognize depression or schizophrenia in the descriptions also had better first aid responses. These results show that mental health first aid skills need improving in a number of areas. They also show that lack of knowledge of mental disorders and stigmatizing attitudes are barriers to people providing first aid.

Download full report of this survey from BMC Psychiatry 2005, 5:9
http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-244X-5-9.pdf (Opens in new window).

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6. Review of MHFA evaluation studies, 2005

Mental health first aid training: review of evaluation studies.

Australia and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 2006;40:6-8 (PDF)

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7. Overview of the MHFA Training and Research Program, 2006

Mental health first aid training for members of the public.

International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology 2007;7:141-151 (PDF)

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8. The International spread of the MHFA Program, 2007

Mental Health First Aid: an International program for early intervention.

Early Intervention in Psychiatry 2008;2:55-61 (PDF)

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9. Improving mental health capacity in rural communities, 2008

The Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health in NSW evaluated the effectiveness of the MHFA training in drought-affected rural and remote Australia.

To download the article abstract please click on the link below:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18808491?log$=activity

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10. Description and evaluation of a MHFA program for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, 2009
This is the first published paper on an evaluation of a cultural adaptation of the MHFA Australia program. An initial qualitative evaluation of the uptake and acceptability of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander MHFA program found the program is culturally appropriate, empowering Aboriginal people and providing information that is highly relevant in assisting Aboriginal people with a mental illness.

To download the article abstract please click on the link below:

http://www.ijmhs.com/content/pdf/1752-4458-3-10.pdf

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11. Enhancing mental health knowledge and skills of agents working with farmers, 2009
The Centre for Rural and Remote Area Health, University of Southern Queensland, evaluated the effectiveness of the MHFA training for Advisory and Extension Agents, who are a main line of contact of farmers.  The agents’ mental health literacy and skills in dealing with people with mental illness were significantly improved.  

To download the article abstract, please "click here"

A second article discusses the reflections of farmer advisors about the MHFA training.  They reported that the MHFA course materials were new, well presented and relevant for them.

To download this article, please “click here”

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12. Evaluation of Mental Health First Aid training with members of the Vietnamese community in Melbourne, Australia
This is the second published paper on an evaluation of a cultural adaptation of the MHFA Australia program. Pre and post measurements in this uncontrolled trial of the Vietnamese MHFA program found significant reductions in stigmatising attitudes, improved knowledge of mental disorders and improved knowledge about appropriate forms of assistance to give to people in the Vietnamese community with mental disorder.

To download the article abstract, please click on the link below:

http://www.ijmhs.com/content/pdf/1752-4458-3-19.pdf

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13. Improving football coaches’ recognition and response to mental health problems in others, 2010
The Rural Health Academic Centre in the rural city of Ballarat in Victoria delivered the MHFA course to 36 football coaches from 12 rural clubs in Victoria resulting in increased recognition of mental illness and increased confidence to respond to mental health problems in others.

To download this article, please click on the link below:

http://www.ijmhs.com/content/4/1/10

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14. Evaluation of Mental Health First Aid training with members of the Chinese community in Melbourne, Australia
Lam AY.K, Jorm AF, Wong DF.K. Mental health first aid training for the Chinese community in Melbourne, Australia: effects on knowledge about and attitudes toward people with mental illness. International Journal of Mental Health Systems 2010; 4:18.

This is the third published paper on an evaluation of a cultural adaptation of the MHFA Australia program. MHFA Hong Kong Instructor Angus Y Lam spent some time studying in Melbourne.  Whilst here, he carried out an evaluation of the 12-hr MHFA delivered to 108 people from the Chinese community in Melbourne. Angus used the adapted Chinese translated MHFA manual from the MHFA Hong Kong Program.  He also conducted the course in Cantonese, which was simultaneously translated into Mandarin by another participant. Pre and post measurements in this uncontrolled trial found this training to be effective in improving recognition of mental disorders, in reducing negative stigmatizing attitudes and in changing beliefs about the helpfulness of treatment.

To download the article abstract, please click on the link below:

  http://www.ijmhs.com/content/pdf/1752-4458-4-18.pdf

 

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15. Evaluation of Mental Health First Aid training for high school teachers
Jorm AF, Kitchener BA, Sawyer MG, Scales H, Cvetkovski S. Mental health first aid training for high school teachers: a cluster randomized trial BMC Psychiatry 2010; 10:51.

Mental illnesses often have their first onset during adolescence. For this reason, high school teachers are in a good position to provide initial assistance to students who are developing mental health problems. To improve the skills of teachers in this area, the Youth MHFA course was modified to be suitable for high school teachers and evaluated in a cluster randomised trial with teachers from 14 South Australian high schools.

Evaluation by questionnaires pre- and post-training and at 6 months follow-up found that the training increased teachers’ knowledge, changed beliefs about treatment to be more like those of mental health professionals, reduced some aspects of stigma, and increased confidence in providing help to students and colleagues. There was an indirect effect on students, who reported receiving more mental health information from school staff. Most of the changes found were sustained 6 months after training.

To download this article, please click on the link below:

http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-244X-10-51.pdf

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16. Experiences of instructors delivering the Mental Health First Aid training programme
Terry J. Experiences of instructors delivering the Mental Health First Aid training programme: a descriptive qualitative study Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing 2010; 17:7.

Research relating to MHFA has centred on course attendees. Understanding experiences of instructors delivering such programmes is also key to the success of future delivery. This study sought to identify the views and experiences of instructors delivering MHFA in Wales. Fourteen MHFA instructors participated in semi-structured audio-recorded interviews, with the transcripts analysed to identify key themes. This paper explores two of the identified themes namely prerequisite skills and support required by instructors. The study highlighted that because of the ensuing emotional labour experienced by instructors, universal mental health training programmes must put in place a clear infrastructure to train, support and monitor those delivering them, for programme roll-out to be effective.

To view the abstract of this article or to purchase the full text, click on the link below:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2850.2010.01557.x/abstract

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Last updated: 24-Aug-2010

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