Abstract
BackgroundMedical students face many barriers to seeking out professional help for their mental health, including stigma relating to mental illness, and often prefer to seek support and advice from fellow students. Improving medical students’ mental health literacy and abilities to support someone experiencing a mental health problem could reduce barriers to help seeking and improve mental health in this population. Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is an evidence-based intervention designed to improve mental health literacy and ability to respond to someone with a mental health problem. This pilot randomised controlled trial aims to evaluate the MHFA eLearning course in UK medical students.MethodsFifty-five medical students were randomised to receive six weeks access to the MHFA eLearning course (n = 27) or to a no-access control group (n = 28). Both groups completed baseline (pre-randomisation) and follow-up (six weeks post-randomisation) online questionnaires measuring recognition of a mental health problem, mental health first aid intentions, confidence to help a friend experiencing a mental health problem, and stigmatising attitudes. Course feedback was gathered at follow-up.ResultsMore participants were lost follow-up in the MHFA group (51.9%) compared to control (21.4%). Both intention-to-treat (ITT) and non-ITT analyses showed that the MHFA intervention improved mental health first aid intentions (p = <.001) and decreased stigmatising attitudes towards people with mental health problems (p = .04). While ITT analysis found no significant Group x Time interaction for confidence to help a friend, the non-ITT analysis did show the intervention improved confidence to help a friend with mental health problems (p = <.001), and improved mental health knowledge (p = .003). Medical students in the intervention group reported a greater number of actual mental health first aid actions at follow-up (p = .006). Feedback about the MHFA course was generally positive, with participants stating it helped improve their knowledge and confidence to help someone.ConclusionThis pilot study demonstrated the potential for the MHFA eLearning course to improve UK medical students’ mental health first aid skills, confidence to help a friend and stigmatising attitudes. It could be useful in supporting their own and others’ mental health while studying and in their future healthcare careers.Trial registrationRetrospectively registered (ISRCTN11219848).
Highlights
IntroductionMental Health First Aid (MHFA) is an evidence-based intervention designed to improve mental health literacy and ability to respond to someone with a mental health problem
Introduction to mental health and MentalHealth First Aid Definitions, prevalence, and impact of mental health problems Spectrum of interventions available for mental health problems Types of professional help and treatment available for mental health problems Definitions of recovery for mental health problems Explanation of Mental Health First Aid and introduction to the MHFA ‘ALGEE’ action plan 2
The intervention and control group were well matched at baseline in terms of demographic characteristics, current mental health, and mental health first aid outcomes, with no significant differences between the groups
Summary
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is an evidence-based intervention designed to improve mental health literacy and ability to respond to someone with a mental health problem This pilot randomised controlled trial aims to evaluate the MHFA eLearning course in UK medical students. A qualitative study involving British medical students reported that the stigma associated with mental distress, feeling ashamed and embarrassment in having a “weakness” and how this would be perceived by academic staff, hindered help-seeking [8]. This has obvious potential implications for their management of mental health problems in themselves and for their patients.
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