Abstract
BackgroundEating disorders cause significant burden that may be reduced by early and appropriate help-seeking. However, despite the availability of effective treatments, very few individuals with eating disorders seek treatment. Training in mental health first aid is known to be effective in increasing mental health literacy and supportive behaviours, in the social networks of individuals with mental health problems. Increases in these domains are thought to improve the likelihood that effective help is sought. However, the efficacy of mental health first aid for eating disorders has not been evaluated. The aim of this research was to examine whether specific training in mental health first aid for eating disorders was effective in changing knowledge, attitudes and behaviours towards people with eating disorders.MethodsA repeated measures, uncontrolled trial was conducted to establish proof of concept and provide guidance on the future design of a randomised controlled trial. Self-report questionnaires, administered at baseline, post-training and 6-month follow-up, assessed the effectiveness of the 4-hour, single session, mental health first aid training.Results73 participants completed the training and all questionnaires. The training intervention was associated with statistically significant increases in problem recognition and knowledge of appropriate mental health first aid strategies, which were maintained at 6-month follow-up. Sustained significant changes in attitudes and behaviours were less clear. 20 participants reported providing assistance to someone with a suspected eating disorder, seven of whom sought professional help as a result of the first aid interaction. Results provided no evidence of a negative impact on participants or the individuals they provided assistance to.ConclusionsThis research provides preliminary evidence for the use of training in mental health first aid as a suitable intervention for increasing community knowledge of and support for people with eating disorders to seek appropriate help.Trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12611001181998
Highlights
Eating disorders cause significant burden that may be reduced by early and appropriate help-seeking
Results for the final Mental Health First Aid question regarding participant confidence revealed that confidence ratings were significantly different across time points, with both post-training, and follow-up ratings being significantly higher than baseline
To assess the qualitative nature of first aid interactions participants had with individuals with eating disorders, the First Aid Experiences Questionnaire asked a number of open-ended questions about their intervention
Summary
Eating disorders cause significant burden that may be reduced by early and appropriate help-seeking. Training in mental health first aid is known to be effective in increasing mental health literacy and supportive behaviours, in the social networks of individuals with mental health problems. Receiving treatment for weight-loss or another mental health problem, such as depression or anxiety, is much more common than receiving appropriate formal care for an eating pathology [10,11,12,13] Those with eating disorders are more likely to engage help-seeking from informal sources, such as their social network, or to use selfhelp strategies, such as increasing intake of vitamins and minerals or searching for information on the internet, than they are to obtain formal treatment [12,14,15,16]. While there are self-help strategies known to be useful in reducing some eating disorder symptoms, these are rarely utilised [9,17]
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