Mental Health First Aid Training With Members of the Public in a Rural Area

ISRCTN ISRCTN53887541
DOI https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN53887541
Secondary identifying numbers N/A
Submission date
22/11/2003
Registration date
01/12/2003
Last edited
10/09/2007
Recruitment status
No longer recruiting
Overall study status
Completed
Condition category
Mental and Behavioural Disorders
Prospectively registered
Protocol
Statistical analysis plan
Results
Individual participant data

Plain English summary of protocol

Not provided at time of registration

Contact information

Prof Anthony Jorm
Scientific

Centre for Mental Health Research
Australian National University
Canberra
0200
Australia

Phone +61 2 61258414
Email anthony.jorm@anu.edu.au

Study information

Study designRandomised controlled trial
Primary study designInterventional
Secondary study designRandomised controlled trial
Study setting(s)Not specified
Study typeNot Specified
Scientific title
Study objectivesA Mental Health First Aid course has been developed which trains members of the public in how to give initial help in mental health crisis situations and to support people developing mental health problems. This course has previously been evaluated in a randomized controlled trial in a workplace setting and found to produce a number of positive effects. However, this was an efficacy trial under relatively ideal conditions. The present trial is an effectiveness trial in which the course was given under more typical conditions. The hypotheses were that individuals trained in Mental Health First Aid, when compared to wait-list controls, would have increased knowledge of mental disorders and their treatments, decreased social distance, increased confidence in providing help, and that they would provide greater help to people experiencing mental health problems. The findings were that training produced significantly greater recognition of the disorders, increased agreeement with health professionals about which interventions are likely to be helpful, decreased social distance, increased confidence in providing help to others, and an increase in help actually provided. There was no change in the number of people with mental health problems that trainees had contact with nore in the percentage advising someone to seek professional help.
Ethics approval(s)Not provided at time of registration
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studiedMental and Behavioural Disorders
InterventionParticipants 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 typeOther
Primary outcome measureRecognition of mental disorders in vignettes, agreeement with health professionals about which interventions are likely to be helpful for the persons portrayed in the vignettes, social distance from people with mental disorders, confidence in providing help to others, contact with people with mental disorders, amount and type of help actually provided.
Secondary outcome measuresNot provided at time of registration
Overall study start date01/10/2002
Completion date31/10/2003

Eligibility

Participant type(s)Patient
Age groupNot Specified
SexNot Specified
Target number of participants753
Key inclusion criteriaMembers of the public living in a rural area of Australia. The trial examines the ability of participants to provide initial help to people who have a mental disorder.
There were 753 participants, 416 in the intervention group and 337 in the control group. These were members of the community, not patients.
Key exclusion criteriaNot provided at time of registration
Date of first enrolment01/10/2002
Date of final enrolment31/10/2003

Locations

Countries of recruitment

  • Australia

Study participating centre

Centre for Mental Health Research
Canberra
0200
Australia

Sponsor information

Australian Centre for Mental Health Research
Research council

Australian National University
Canberra
0200
Australia

Phone +61 2 61258414
Email anthony.jorm@anu.edu.au
ROR logo "ROR" https://ror.org/019wvm592

Funders

Funder type

Government

New South Wales Department of Health,

No information available

National Health and Medical Research Council
Government organisation / National government
Alternative name(s)
NHMRC
Location
Australia

Results and Publications

Intention to publish date
Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to shareNo
IPD sharing plan summaryNot provided at time of registration
Publication and dissemination planNot provided at time of registration
IPD sharing plan

Study outputs

Output type Details Date created Date added Peer reviewed? Patient-facing?
Results article Results: 23/10/2004 Yes No