Efficacy of Mental Health First Aid training on increasing mental health literacy and first evidence on effects on recipients

Efficacy of Mental Health First Aid training on increasing mental health literacy and first evidence on effects on recipients: a cluster randomized controlled trial in educational settings

Status

Recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN17630569

Enrollment

600

Registered

2024-10-16

Start date

2024-10-14

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2024-10-28

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Mental health literacy in students Mental and Behavioural Disorders

Interventions

In five educational settings, we will randomly allocate clusters (as unit of randomization). These clusters constitute semesters within faculties/specializations (i.e., randomization blocked by instit

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. 18 years of age or older 2. Enrolled at one of the participating settings as student at inclusion to the study 3. Willing to participate in the study 4. Able to provide informed consent

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. Insufficient command of German so that the MHFA training cannot be followed 2. Individuals with an acute mental health problem according to self-report, will be encouraged not to participate in the MHFA training in line with MHFA guidelines 3. Individuals who already participated in the MHFA training in the past

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Mental health literacy assessed using the Mental Health Literacy Scale (O'Connor & Casey, 2015) at 6-months post-baseline	—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Measured at T0 (baseline and pre-MHFA course assessment), T1 (6-months post-baseline) and T2 (12-months post-baseline) and one post-training evaluation: 1. Knowledge about mental health assessed using case vignettes as used previously in evaluations of MHFA courses (Kitchener & Jorm, 2002) 2. Social distance and stigmatizing attitudes using the Social Distance Scale (SDS; Link et al., 1999), the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness (ISMI) scale (Boyd Ritsher et al., 2003; Sibitz et al., 2013), affiliate stigma items from the Children of Parents with Mental Illness – Stigma Questionnaire (COPMI-SQ-r; Stracke et al., 2024) and items in line with Griffiths et al.(2004) 3. Mental health first aid behavior assessed using the Mental Health Support Scale (MHSS-intended and MHSS-provided; Morgan et al., 2023) as well as beliefs about effective treatment and confidence in mental health first aid behavior 4. Mental health of MHFA trainees and MHFA recipients assessed using the 18-item version of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI; Derogatis & Melisaratos, 1983) 5. Quality of life using the World Health Organisation Quality of life assessment [short version] (WHOQol-Bref; Skevington et al., 2004) and mental wellbeing using the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS; Tennant et al., 2007) 6. Help seeking behavior using the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help ATSSPH (Picco et al., 2016), the General Help Seeking Questionnaire (GHSQ; Wilson et al., 2005), the Barriers to Access to Care Evaluation scale (BACE; Clement et al., 2012) and pathways to care; and service use in trial participants using the Client Service Receipt Inventory (CSRI; Chisholm et al., 2000)	—

Measure

Time frame

Measured at T0 (baseline and pre-MHFA course assessment), T1 (6-months post-baseline) and T2 (12-months post-baseline) and one post-training evaluation: 1. Knowledge about mental health assessed using case vignettes as used previously in evaluations of MHFA courses (Kitchener & Jorm, 2002) 2. Social distance and stigmatizing attitudes using the Social Distance Scale (SDS; Link et al., 1999), the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness (ISMI) scale (Boyd Ritsher et al., 2003; Sibitz et al., 2013), affiliate stigma items from the Children of Parents with Mental Illness – Stigma Questionnaire (COPMI-SQ-r; Stracke et al., 2024) and items in line with Griffiths et al.(2004) 3. Mental health first aid behavior assessed using the Mental Health Support Scale (MHSS-intended and MHSS-provided; Morgan et al., 2023) as well as beliefs about effective treatment and confidence in mental health first aid behavior 4. Mental health of MHFA trainees and MHFA recipients assessed using the 18-item version of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI; Derogatis & Melisaratos, 1983) 5. Quality of life using the World Health Organisation Quality of life assessment [short version] (WHOQol-Bref; Skevington et al., 2004) and mental wellbeing using the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS; Tennant et al., 2007) 6. Help seeking behavior using the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help ATSSPH (Picco et al., 2016), the General Help Seeking Questionnaire (GHSQ; Wilson et al., 2005), the Barriers to Access to Care Evaluation scale (BACE; Clement et al., 2012) and pathways to care; and service use in trial participants using the Client Service Receipt Inventory (CSRI; Chisholm et al., 2000)

—

Countries

Germany

Contacts

Public ContactJessica Hartmann

Jessica.Hartmann@zi-mannheim.de+49 62117031946

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026