Guidelines for the public on how to provide mental health first aid: narrative review

Jorm, Anthony F; Ross, Anna

doi:10.1192/bjo.2018.58

Cited by 30 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 87 publications

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“…School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Burwood, Australia. 5 School of Psychological Sciences, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Clayton, Australia.…”

Section: Fundingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One factor in MHFA's successful dissemination has been its commitment to evidence-based training and strong research focus [4]. Training courses are based on guidelines on how to provide mental health first aid that are developed using expert consensus studies [5]. Key elements of the guidelines are summarized in a 5-point MHFA Action Plan taught in the course.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Long-term effects of Youth Mental Health First Aid training: randomized controlled trial with 3-year follow-up

et al. 2020

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Background Mental 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. Methods 384 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. Results 3-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). Conclusions This 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 registration ACTRN12612000390886, registered retrospectively 5/4/2012, https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=347502

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Section: Fundingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term effects of Youth Mental Health First Aid training: randomized controlled trial with 3-year follow-up

et al. 2020

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“…The fourth factor is that there is a strong partnership with research. The content of MHFA training has been based on expert consensus guidelines developed using Delphi studies. The experts in these studies have been mental health professionals and people with lived experience.…”

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confidence: 99%

Mental Health First Aid training: lessons learned from the global spread of a community education program

2019

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“…The search settings were adjusted each time to reflect the country of the search engine. Based on previous similar Delphi studies [ 27 ], websites appearing in the top 50 results from each search were reviewed. Previous studies have found that the quality of the resources declines after the first 50 results [ 28 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Offering mental health first aid to a person after a potentially traumatic event: a Delphi study to redevelop the 2008 guidelines

Chalmers

Jorm

Kelly³

et al. 2020

BMC Psychol

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Background Trauma has a major impact on the mental health and wellbeing of people globally. Friends, family and members of the public are often well positioned to provide initial assistance if someone is experiencing extreme distress following a potentially traumatic event. Expert consensus guidelines for high income, Western countries on how to do this were published in 2008. The aim of the current study was to re-develop these guidelines to ensure they are current and reflect best practice. Methods The Delphi consensus method was used to determine which helping statements should be included in the guidelines. Helping statements were derived from a systematic search of literature that considered how a member of the public could help someone experiencing extreme distress following a potentially traumatic event. Two expert panels, comprising 28 mental health professionals with expertise in managing trauma and 26 consumer advocates, rated each statement. Statements were accepted for inclusion in the guidelines if they were endorsed by at least 80% of each panel. Results Out of 183 statements, 103 were endorsed as appropriate helping actions in providing assistance to someone experiencing extreme distress following a potentially traumatic event. These statements were used to form the re-developed guidelines. Conclusion This study has resulted in a more comprehensive set of guidelines than the original version, with the endorsement of 103 helping actions, compared to 65 previously. The updated guidelines better represent the complexities of experiencing trauma and the considered approach required when providing first aid after a potentially traumatic event. The additional guidance on providing initial assistance, talking about the trauma, offering short-term assistance and seeking appropriate professional help reflects current knowledge. A notable addition is the inclusion of content on how a first aider can assist after a disclosure of abuse. The guidelines are available to the public and will inform future updates of Mental Health First Aid training courses.

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Guidelines for the public on how to provide mental health first aid: narrative review

Cited by 30 publications

References 87 publications

Long-term effects of Youth Mental Health First Aid training: randomized controlled trial with 3-year follow-up

Long-term effects of Youth Mental Health First Aid training: randomized controlled trial with 3-year follow-up

Mental Health First Aid training: lessons learned from the global spread of a community education program

Offering mental health first aid to a person after a potentially traumatic event: a Delphi study to redevelop the 2008 guidelines

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