Contact information
Type
Scientific
Primary contact
Prof Anthony Jorm
ORCID ID
Contact details
Centre for Mental Health Research
Australian National University
Canberra
0200
Australia
+61 2 61258414
anthony.jorm@anu.edu.au
Additional identifiers
EudraCT number
ClinicalTrials.gov number
Protocol/serial number
N/A
Study information
Scientific title
Acronym
Study hypothesis
The Mental Health First Aid course was favorably evaluated in an uncontrolled trial published in 2002. This study evaluated the same course using a wait-list control group. The major hypothesis was that Mental Health First Aid training would improve mental health literacy and helping skills relative to a wait-list control. A secondary hypothesis was that it would benefit the participants' own mental health. The trial found a number of benefits from the training, including greater confidence in providing help to others, greater likelihood of advising people to seek professional help, improved concordance with health professionals about treatments, and decreased stigmatizing attitudes. There was also an improvement in participants' mental health.
Ethics approval
Not provided at time of registration
Study design
Randomised controlled trial
Primary study design
Interventional
Secondary study design
Randomised controlled trial
Trial setting
Not specified
Trial type
Not Specified
Patient information sheet
Condition
Mental and Behavioural Disorders
Intervention
Participants are randomly assigned to receive either the Mental Health First Aid course or no intervention. (The control group receives the course once the trial is finished). The Mental Health First Aid course trains members of the public to provide initial help to people in mental health crisis situations and in the early stages of a mental disorder.
Intervention type
Other
Phase
Not Applicable
Drug names
Primary outcome measures
Recognition of mental disorders in vignettes, beliefs about treatments for the persons in the vignettes, social distance from people with mental disorders, amount of contact with people with mental disorders, confidence in providing help to others, amount and type of help provided to others, participant mental health.
Secondary outcome measures
Not provided at time of registration
Overall trial start date
01/04/2003
Overall trial end date
30/11/2003
Reason abandoned
Eligibility
Participant inclusion criteria
Employees of two Australian government departments. The trial examines the ability of participants to provide initial help to people who have a mental disorder.
Participant type
Patient
Age group
Adult
Gender
Both
Target number of participants
301
Participant exclusion criteria
Not provided at time of registration
Recruitment start date
01/04/2003
Recruitment end date
30/11/2003
Locations
Countries of recruitment
Australia
Trial participating centre
Centre for Mental Health Research
Canberra
0200
Australia
Sponsor information
Organisation
Australian Centre for Mental Health Research
Sponsor details
Australian National University
Canberra
0200
Australia
+61 2 61258414
anthony.jorm@anu.edu.au
Sponsor type
Research organisation
Website
Funders
Funder type
Research organisation
Funder name
National Health and Medical Research Council
Alternative name(s)
NHMRC
Funding Body Type
government organisation
Funding Body Subtype
Federal/National Government
Location
Australia
Results and Publications
Publication and dissemination plan
Not provided at time of registration
Intention to publish date
Participant level data
Not provided at time of registration
Results - basic reporting
Publication summary
Publication citations
-
Results
Kitchener BA, Jorm AF, Mental health first aid training in a workplace setting: a randomized controlled trial [ISRCTN13249129]., BMC Psychiatry, 2004, 4, 23, doi: 10.1186/1471-244X-4-23.