None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Managers and supervisors play a key role in the welfare of the workforce and in the prevention of long-term disability. There is evidence that managers within the emergency services feel under-skilled in dealing with sickness absence, particularly when absence is due to mental illness. We seek to test the effectiveness of a novel program of manager education which combines mental health literacy and sickness absence management training within Fire and Rescue NSW. The program will be rolled out over a six month period to all Duty Commanders as part of a NSW Fire and Rescue training initiative. We aim to evaluate the effectiveness of the program in increasing mental health literacy, reducing stigma around mental illness, increasing manager knowledge of their role in sickness absence management as well as increasing confidence and encouraging early communication with employees on sickness absence leave. Importantly, we will also investigate the potential impact of the training in reducing overall sickness absence rates within Fire and Rescue NSW.
Interventions
A new type of manager training, which combines mental health literacy with sickness absence management is soon to be rolled out across Fire and Rescue NSW. This single session training will be delivered by the Black Dog Institute to groups of 8 to 12 managers over a 4 hour period. The training is designed to be very interactive and to focus on the enhancing of confidence and skills rather than didactic lectures. Following the face to face training, there will also be two follow up phone contacts
A new type of manager training, which combines mental health literacy with sickness absence management is soon to be rolled out across Fire and Rescue NSW. This single session training will be delivered by the Black Dog Institute to groups of 8 to 12 managers over a 4 hour period. The training is designed to be very interactive and to focus on the enhancing of confidence and skills rather than didactic lectures. Following the face to face training, there will also be two follow up phone contacts to provide additional support and evaluation. The first of these phone calls (which will be made by an EAP Manager Support Service) will be between 3 and 4 weeks after the training, while the second will occur between 6 to 8 weeks after the training.
Sponsors
University of New South Wales
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Educational / counselling / training
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to 65 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
Duty Commander (or equivalent or higher level of seniority) in Fire and Rescue NSW, Metropolitan region Good English comprehension
Exclusion criteria
Inability to provide informed consent
Outcome results
None listed