Do Mental Health First Aid™ courses enhance knowledge?
| Date | 13 March 2017 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JMHTEP-01-2016-0003 |
| Published date | 13 March 2017 |
| Pages | 69-76 |
| Author | Hana Morrissey,Simon Moss,Nektarios Alexi,Patrick Ball |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Mental health,Mental health education |
Do Mental Health First Aid™
courses enhance knowledge?
Hana Morrissey, Simon Moss, Nektarios Alexi and Patrick Ball
Abstract
Purpose –Biased assumptions and unhelpful tendencies in human nature can lead people who are
experiencing mental illness to shun help and support. Mental illness is often perceived as immutable and/or a
sign of weakness. Even those seeking support may not receive the assistance they need. Advice may
be unsuitable or people feel too nervous and challenged to help. The Mental Health First Aid™courses, like
general first aid, are designed to enhance community knowledge and thereby support appropriate
assistance. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the extent to which this is achieved.
Design/methodology/approach –An educatio nal audit based upon a short quiz administe red
anonymously to 162 tertiary students from a range of disciplines, before and after delivery of the standard
12 hour Mental Health First Aid™course. This was used to examine assumptions and proposed actions
before and after training.
Findings –Analysisof the 162 responses foundthat the Mental HealthFirst Aid™courses significantlyimprove
knowledge. Thishas the potential to increase understandingand support for those suffering mentalillness.
Research limitations/implications –This educational audit looked only at knowledge improvement.
Whether this really does translate into improved outcomes requires further investigation.
Practical implications –Tertiary students who are enrolled in health courses and others which involve
human interaction as provision of services will be empowered with skills that enable them to interact with
those who they will be serving at well-informed level and equity.
Social implications –Social inclusion and de-stigmatising mental health issues
Originality/value –Mental health first aid courses potentially enable individuals who are not otherwise
involved in mental health to assist people in need.
Keywords Social support, Stigma, Mental health and mental illness, Mental health knowledge,
Self-help and help seeking
Paper type Viewpoint
Introduction
Hurdles that impede the pursuit of help
Despite advances in mental health service provision, problems remain. The incidence of
conditions such as anxiety and depression, have escalated, at least in some countries and age
groups (Twenge, 2000; Twenge and Campbell, 2008; Twenge et al., 2010). In the USA, for
example, approximately twice as many people die from suicide as from homicide (Kowalski,
2003). Similar patterns of escalating demand have been observed worldwide (van Praag, 2002).
When people with mental health issues have the support of others; family, friends, and colleagues,
mental health problems tend to dissipate (Berry and Rickwood, 2000; Rose, 2000). Indeed, social
support is reported to be one of the key determinants of mental health as defined by the World Health
Organization: “A state of well-being that enables people to contribute to their community, work
effectively, accommodate stressful demands, and achieve their goals and potential”(WHO, 2014).
Hurdles can impede the benefits of social support (Davey, 2013). These may be divided into two
categories; hurdles that deter people from seeking this support and hurdles that impede the
capacity of individuals to offer support. This is shown in Table I.
Received 25 January 2016
Revised 8 November 2016
19 November 2016
Accepted 3 January 2017
The authors express their thanks
to the Mental Health First Aid™
Australia for developing an
excellent suite of mental health first
aid courses.
Hana Morrissey is a Senior
Lecturer in Clinical Pharmacy at
the School of Psychological
and Clinical Sciences, Charles
Darwin University, Darwin,
Australia.
Simon Moss is based at the
School of Psychological and
Clinical Sciences, Charles
Darwin University, Darwin,
Australia.
Nektarios Alexi is a
Psychologist at the School of
Psychological and Clinical
Sciences, Charles Darwin
University, Darwin, Australia.
Patrick Ball is based at the
School of Psychological and
Clinical Sciences, Charles
Darwin University, Darwin,
Australia.
DOI 10.1108/JMHTEP-01-2016-0003 VOL. 12 NO. 2 2017, pp.69-76, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1755-6228
j
THE JOURNAL OF MENTALHEALTH TRAINING, EDUCATION AND PRACTICE
j
PAGE69
To continue reading
Request your trial