Abstract
BackgroundMental Health First Aid (MHFA) training teaches community members how to provide initial support to someone with a mental health problem. Key gaps in the evidence base supporting the training are the longevity of effects beyond 6 months, effects on mental health first aid behavior, and the impact of support on the recipient of aid. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the Youth MHFA course 3 years after training.Methods384 Australian parents of an adolescent aged 12–15 were randomized to receive either the 14-h Youth MHFA course or the 15-h Australian Red Cross Provide First Aid course. This paper reports outcomes at baseline and 3 years later. Primary outcomes were cases of adolescent mental health problems, and parental support towards their adolescent if they developed a mental health problem, rated by the parent and adolescent. Secondary outcomes included parent knowledge about youth mental health problems, intentions and confidence in supporting a young person, stigmatizing attitudes, and help-seeking for mental health problems. Data were analyzed with mixed-effects models with group by measurement occasion interactions.Results3-year follow-up data was obtained from 149 parents and 118 adolescents, who were aged 16.5 years on average. Between baseline and 3-year follow-up, there was a non-significant reduction in adolescent cases of mental health problems relative to the control group (odds ratios (OR) 0.16–0.17), a non-significant improvement in parental support reported by adolescents with a mental health problem (OR 2.80–4.31), and a non-significant improvement in the quality of support that parents reported providing to their adolescents with a mental health problem (d = 0.38). Secondary outcomes that showed significant improvements relative to the control group were parental knowledge about youth mental health problems (d = 0.31) and adolescent perceptions of general social support from their parents (d = 0.35).ConclusionsThis paper reports on the longest follow-up of Mental Health First Aid training in a controlled trial. Three years after training, participants had maintained their improved knowledge about mental health problems. There were some indications of other positive effects, but the study was underpowered to clearly show benefits to mental health first aid skills and recipients of aid.Trial registrationACTRN12612000390886, registered retrospectively 5/4/2012, https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=347502
Highlights
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training teaches community members how to provide initial support to someone with a mental health problem
Parents were less likely to be missing if they had a tertiary education (OR = 0.58, 95% CI 0.33 to 0.95), were younger in age (OR = 0.95, 95% CI 0.90 to 0.99) and spoke only English at home (OR = 0.38, 95% CI 0.19 to 0.76)
This paper reports on the 3-year outcomes from Youth MHFA training as part of the Training for Parents of Teenagers randomized controlled trial
Summary
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training teaches community members how to provide initial support to someone with a mental health problem. Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is a training program that teaches community members how to provide initial support to people with mental health problems. MHFA training was developed because members of the public often have poor mental health literacy, possess stigmatizing attitudes, and lack the confidence and knowledge of how to help a person with a mental health problem [1]. There are core MHFA courses to assist specific population groups (e.g. adults, youth, older people), and specialized courses teaching how to help someone experiencing a specific crisis or situation, such as suicidal thoughts and behaviors [2]. MHFA training began in Australia in 2000 and has had a global impact, spreading to over 27 countries with more than 3 million people trained worldwide [3]
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