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Cited by 118Mental Health Treatment and AccessSchool Health and Nursing EducationSuicide and Self-Harm Studies

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‘teen Mental Health First Aid’: a description of the program and an initial evaluation

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Hart, Laura M., Mason, Robert J., Kelly, Claire M., Cvetkovski, Stefan, Jorm, Anthony F.·2016·International Journal of Mental Health Systems
DOI 10.1186/s13033-016-0034-1PMC PMC4717562
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Many adolescents have poor mental health literacy, stigmatising attitudes towards people with mental illness, and lack skills in providing optimal Mental Health First Aid to peers. These could be improved with training to facilitate better social support and increase appropriate help-seeking among adolescents with emerging mental health problems. teen Mental Health First Aid (teen MHFA), a new initiative of Mental Health First Aid International, is a 3 × 75 min classroom based training program for students aged 15-18 years. METHODS: An uncontrolled pilot of the teen MHFA course was undertaken to examine the feasibility of providing the program in Australian secondary schools, to test relevant measures of student knowledge, attitudes and behaviours, and to provide initial evidence of program effects. RESULTS: Across four schools, 988 students received the teen MHFA program. 520 students with a mean age of 16 years completed the baseline questionnaire, 345 completed the post-test and 241 completed the three-month follow-up. Statistically significant improvements were found in mental health literacy, confidence in providing Mental Health First Aid to a peer, help-seeking intentions and student mental health, while stigmatising attitudes significantly reduced. CONCLUSIONS: teen MHFA appears to be an effective and feasible program for training high school students in Mental Health First Aid techniques. Further research is required with a randomized controlled design to elucidate the causal role of the program in the changes observed.

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Crossref · 10.1186/s13033-016-0034-1

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Figures

Fig. 1 teen Mental Health First Aid action plan. The central teaching of teen Mental Health First Aid training is a five-point action plan, developed from the outcomes of a Delphi study [36]. It is designed to communicate five first aid strategies in an easy to remember format; once each action has been explained and discussed in detail throughout the course, the action plan is then referred to in short as “Look, Ask, Listen, Help, Your Friend”
Fig. 1 teen Mental Health First Aid action plan. The central teaching of teen Mental Health First Aid training is a five-point action plan, developed from the outcomes of a Delphi study [36]. It is designed to communicate five first aid strategies in an easy to remember format; once each action has been explained and discussed in detail throughout the course, the action plan is then referred to in short as “Look, Ask, Listen, Help, Your Friend”CC BY · PubMed Central
Fig. 2 Participant flow Diagram. Note: All students in the eligible classes were offered the training, irrespective of whether they had parental consent to participate in the research or whether they completed the baseline questionnaire. 520 students completed the baseline questionnaire. 66 % of these participants went on to complete both the training and the post-training questionnaire. 253 students (49 % of baseline) completed the follow-up questionnaire 3-months after training. 12 students responded to more than 50 % but less than 100 % of the questionnaire. Participants who did not complete the post-training or follow-up questionnaires were included in the analyses using multiple imputation estimates
Fig. 2 Participant flow Diagram. Note: All students in the eligible classes were offered the training, irrespective of whether they had parental consent to participate in the research or whether they completed the baseline questionnaire. 520 students completed the baseline questionnaire. 66 % of these participants went on to complete both the training and the post-training questionnaire. 253 students (49 % of baseline) completed the follow-up questionnaire 3-months after training. 12 students responded to more than 50 % but less than 100 % of the questionnaire. Participants who did not complete the post-training or follow-up questionnaires were included in the analyses using multiple imputation estimatesCC BY · PubMed Central
Fig. 3 Student self-report of professional and non-professional help received for a mental health problem. Note: 108 students reported having a mental health problem in the 3 months before receiving teen MHFA. 48 students reported having one in the 3 months after the course. Of those students, the majority reported not having received professional help (a), but did report having received help from someone else, such as a teacher, parent or friend (b)
Fig. 3 Student self-report of professional and non-professional help received for a mental health problem. Note: 108 students reported having a mental health problem in the 3 months before receiving teen MHFA. 48 students reported having one in the 3 months after the course. Of those students, the majority reported not having received professional help (a), but did report having received help from someone else, such as a teacher, parent or friend (b)CC BY · PubMed Central
Fig. 4 Participant satisfaction with the teen MHFA Program. Note: 331 students completed the post-training questionnaire which included questions about participant satisfaction with the program content and presentation. a shows that a majority of students reported enjoying the program. b shows a majority rated the program as well presented. c shows the majority thought the program was very easy to understand. d shows that most students reported the program content was not new to them
Fig. 4 Participant satisfaction with the teen MHFA Program. Note: 331 students completed the post-training questionnaire which included questions about participant satisfaction with the program content and presentation. a shows that a majority of students reported enjoying the program. b shows a majority rated the program as well presented. c shows the majority thought the program was very easy to understand. d shows that most students reported the program content was not new to themCC BY · PubMed Central
Fig. 5 Participant satisfaction with the teen MHFA materials. Note: 331 students completed the post-training questionnaire which included questions about participant satisfaction with the course materials. a shows that a majority of students reported liking the student workbook. b shows a majority also liked the powerpoint presentation. c shows that the videos were very well liked among the students and clearly the most popular aspect of the course. d shows that most students reported liking the group activities
Fig. 5 Participant satisfaction with the teen MHFA materials. Note: 331 students completed the post-training questionnaire which included questions about participant satisfaction with the course materials. a shows that a majority of students reported liking the student workbook. b shows a majority also liked the powerpoint presentation. c shows that the videos were very well liked among the students and clearly the most popular aspect of the course. d shows that most students reported liking the group activitiesCC BY · PubMed Central

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Kitchener BA, Jorm AF, Kelly CM. Mental Health First Aid Manual. 3rd ed. Melbourne: Mental Health First Aid Australia; 2013.
  2. Kitchener BA, Jorm AF, Kelly CM. Mental Health First Aid Manual. 2nd ed. Melbourne: Mental Health First Aid Australia; 2010.

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Metadata

Authors
Hart, L. M., Mason, R. J., Kelly, C. M., Cvetkovski, S., & Jorm, A. F.
Affiliations
  • The University of Melbourne (AU)
  • Deakin University (AU)
Corresponding author
Jorm, Anthony F.
ORCID
Venue
International Journal of Mental Health Systems
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2016-01-19
Volume
10
Issue
1
Pages
3-3
ISSN
1752-4458 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/s13033-016-0034-1
PMC
PMC4717562
OpenAlex
W2105757610
Cited by
118
References
95
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 20 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 4
FWCI
16.77
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • International Journal of Mental Health Systems (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Minerva Access (University of Melbourne) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • La Trobe University (cc-by)
Funders
  • beyondblue
  • National Health and Medical Research Council (1059785)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Mental Health Treatment and Access
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › School Health and Nursing Education
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
Keywords
mental health first aid training, adolescents, mental health literacy, mental health stigma, help-seeking intentions, peer support, high school students, program feasibility, student mental health

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