For Publishers
DiscoveryMetadataPeer reviewHostingPublishing
For Researchers
JoinPublishReviewCollect
Register
Blog
About
Search
Advanced search
My ScienceOpen
Search
For Publishers
For Researchers
Blog
About
22
views
39
references
 Top references
cited by
124
    
0 reviews
 Review
0
comments
 Comment
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
0 collections
    0
    shares
      192
      similar
       All similar
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: found
      Is Open Access

      Systematic review and meta-analysis of Mental Health First Aid training: Effects on knowledge, stigma, and helping behaviour

      research-article
      Author(s):   * , ,  
      Editor(s):
      Publication date (Electronic):
      Journal: PLoS ONE
      Publisher: Public Library of Science

      Read this article at

      ScienceOpenPublisherPMC
      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          Objective

          To provide an up-to-date assessment of the effectiveness of the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training program on improving mental health knowledge, stigma and helping behaviour.

          Design

          Systematic review and meta-analysis.

          Methods

          A systematic search of electronic databases was conducted in October 2017 to identify randomised controlled trials or controlled trials of the MHFA program. Eligible trials were in adults, used any comparison condition, and assessed one or more of the following outcomes: mental health first aid knowledge; recognition of mental disorders; treatment knowledge; stigma and social distance; confidence in or intentions to provide mental health first aid; provision of mental health first aid; mental health of trainees or recipients of mental health first aid. Risk of bias was assessed and effect sizes (Cohen’s d) were pooled using a random effects model. Separate meta-analyses examined effects at post-training, up to 6 months post-training, and greater than 6 months post-training.

          Results

          A total of 18 trials (5936 participants) were included. Overall, effects were generally small-to-moderate post-training and up to 6 months later, with effects up to 12-months later unclear. MHFA training led to improved mental health first aid knowledge (ds 0.31–0.72), recognition of mental disorders (ds 0.22–0.52) and beliefs about effective treatments (ds 0.19–0.45). There were also small reductions in stigma (ds 0.08–0.14). Improvements were also observed in confidence in helping a person with a mental health problem (ds 0.21–0.58) and intentions to provide first aid (ds 0.26–0.75). There were small improvements in the amount of help provided to a person with a mental health problem at follow-up (d = 0.23) but changes in the quality of behaviours offered were unclear.

          Conclusion

          This review supports the effectiveness of MHFA training in improving mental health literacy and appropriate support for those with mental health problems up to 6 months after training.

          Trial registration

          PROSPERO ( CRD42017060596)

          Related collections

          Most cited references39

          • Record: found
          • Abstract: found
          • Article: not found

          Public conceptions of mental illness: labels, causes, dangerousness, and social distance.

          Laura J Phelan, A Stueve, Bernice Pescosolido … (1999)
          The authors used nationwide survey data to characterize current public conceptions related to recognition of mental illness and perceived causes, dangerousness, and desired social distance. Data were derived from a vignette experiment included in the 1996 General Social Survey. Respondents (n = 1444) were randomly assigned to 1 of 5 vignette conditions. Four vignettes described psychiatric disorders meeting diagnostic criteria, and the fifth depicted a "troubled person" with subclinical problems and worries. Results indicate that the majority of the public identifies schizophrenia (88%) and major depression (69%) as mental illnesses and that most report multicausal explanations combining stressful circumstances with biologic and genetic factors. Results also show, however, that smaller proportions associate alcohol (49%) or drug (44%) abuse with mental illness and that symptoms of mental illness remain strongly connected with public fears about potential violence and with a desire for limited social interaction. While there is reason for optimism in the public's recognition of mental illness and causal attributions, a strong stereotype of dangerousness and desire for social distance persist. These latter conceptions are likely to negatively affect people with mental illness.
          Article 0 comments Cited 167 times – based on 0 reviews     Review now
            Bookmark
            • Record: found
            • Abstract: found
            • Article: not found

            Stigma about Depression and its Impact on Help-Seeking Intentions

            Lisa J Barney, Kathleen M Griffiths, Anthony F. Jorm … (2016)
            Research has shown that people are reluctant to seek professional help for depression, especially from mental health professionals. This may be because of the impact of stigma which can involve people's own responses to depression and help-seeking (self stigma) as well as their perceptions of others' negative responses (perceived stigma). The aim of this article was to examine community help-seeking intentions and stigmatizing beliefs associated with depression.
            Article 0 comments Cited 134 times – based on 0 reviews     Review now
              Bookmark
              • Record: found
              • Abstract: found
              • Article: not found

              Mental Health First Aid is an effective public health intervention for improving knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour: a meta-analysis.

              Sebastian Hökby, Anahit Mkrtchian, Gergo Hadlaczky … (2014)
              Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is a standardized, psychoeducational programme developed to empower the public to approach, support and refer individuals in distress by improving course participants' knowledge, attitudes and behaviours related to mental ill-health. The present paper aims to synthesize published evaluations of the MHFA programme in a meta-analysis to estimate its effects and potential as a public mental health awareness-increasing strategy. Fifteen relevant papers were identified through a systematic literature search. Standardized effect sizes were calculated for three different outcome measures: change in knowledge, attitudes, and helping behaviours. The results of the meta-analysis for these outcomes yielded a mean effect size of Glass's Δ = 0.56 (95% CI = 0.38 - 0.74; p < 0.001), 0.28 (95% CI = 0.22 - 0.35; p < 0.001) and 0.25 (95% CI = 0.12 - 0.38; p < 0.001), respectively. Results were homogenous, and moderator analyses suggested no systematic bias or differences in results related to study design (with or without control group) or 'publication quality' (journal impact factor). The results demonstrate that MHFA increases participants' knowledge regarding mental health, decreases their negative attitudes, and increases supportive behaviours toward individuals with mental health problems. The MHFA programme appears recommendable for public health action.
              Article 0 comments Cited 126 times – based on 0 reviews     Review now
                Bookmark
                All references

                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Amy J. Morgan:
                ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3784-0540
                Role: ConceptualizationRole: Data curationRole: Formal analysisRole: InvestigationRole: MethodologyRole: Project administrationRole: Writing – original draft
                Anna Ross: Role: ConceptualizationRole: Data curationRole: InvestigationRole: MethodologyRole: Writing – review & editing
                Nicola J. Reavley: Role: ConceptualizationRole: MethodologyRole: VisualizationRole: Writing – review & editing
                Christopher M. Doran: Role: Editor
                Journal
                Journal ID (nlm-ta): PLoS One
                Journal ID (iso-abbrev): PLoS ONE
                Journal ID (publisher-id): plos
                Journal ID (pmc): plosone
                Title: PLoS ONE
                Publisher: Public Library of Science (San Francisco, CA USA )
                ISSN (Electronic): 1932-6203
                Publication date (Electronic): 31 May 2018
                Publication date Collection: 2018
                Volume: 13
                Issue: 5
                Electronic Location Identifier: e0197102
                Affiliations
                [001]Centre for Mental Health, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
                Central Queensland University, AUSTRALIA
                Author notes

                Competing Interests: Within the last 5 years all review authors have collaborated with one or both of the founders of Mental Health First Aid (Betty Kitchener and Anthony Jorm). AM, NR and AR are currently supervised by Anthony Jorm. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

                Author information
                http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3784-0540
                Article
                Publisher ID: PONE-D-17-42638
                DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0197102
                PMC ID: 5979014
                PubMed ID: 29851974
                SO-VID: 2fd71ff3-27c3-4b7a-8cbf-22370548d964
                Copyright © © 2018 Morgan et al
                License:

                This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

                History
                Date received : 5 December 2017
                Date accepted : 26 April 2018
                Page count
                Figures: 3, Tables: 2, Pages: 20
                Funding
                Funded by: funder-id http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000925, National Health and Medical Research Council;
                This study was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council ( https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/) awarded to NR (GNT1083394). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
                Categories
                Subject: Research Article
                Subject: Medicine and Health Sciences
                Subject: Mental Health and Psychiatry
                Subject: Research and Analysis Methods
                Subject: Database and Informatics Methods
                Subject: Database Searching
                Subject: Research and Analysis Methods
                Subject: Mathematical and Statistical Techniques
                Subject: Statistical Methods
                Subject: Meta-Analysis
                Subject: Physical Sciences
                Subject: Mathematics
                Subject: Statistics (Mathematics)
                Subject: Statistical Methods
                Subject: Meta-Analysis
                Subject: People and Places
                Subject: Population Groupings
                Subject: Educational Status
                Subject: Trainees
                Subject: People and Places
                Subject: Population Groupings
                Subject: Professions
                Subject: Trainees
                Subject: Biology and Life Sciences
                Subject: Behavior
                Subject: Medicine and Health Sciences
                Subject: Clinical Medicine
                Subject: Clinical Trials
                Subject: Randomized Controlled Trials
                Subject: Medicine and Health Sciences
                Subject: Pharmacology
                Subject: Drug Research and Development
                Subject: Clinical Trials
                Subject: Randomized Controlled Trials
                Subject: Research and Analysis Methods
                Subject: Clinical Trials
                Subject: Randomized Controlled Trials
                Subject: Medicine and Health Sciences
                Subject: Health Care
                Subject: Health Education and Awareness
                Subject: Medicine and Health Sciences
                Subject: Mental Health and Psychiatry
                Subject: Mood Disorders
                Subject: Depression
                Custom metadata
                Data Availability All extracted outcome data are available from the Figshare database: https://figshare.com/articles/MHFA_meta-analysis_data_extraction_xlsx/5665075.

                ScienceOpen disciplines: Uncategorized
                Data availability:
                ScienceOpen disciplines: Uncategorized

                Comments

                Comment on this article

                scite_

                Similar content192

                See all similar

                Cited by113

                See all cited by