Impact Study of Workplace Mental Health Education on Early Intervention for Healthcare Workers With Mental Health Issues

McMaster University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Mental Health Impairment

Treatments: Behavioral: Beyond Silence; Behavioral: Mental Health First Aid (MHFA)

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02158871

MBSi14-385

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is to compare the impact of a new workplace-based mental health peer education program with standardized mental health literacy training on early intervention and support for healthcare employees with mental health issues. Participants are healthcare workers who volunteer to participate in one of the two twelve-hour group education programs. It is hypothesized that the customized "Beyond Silence" peer education program led by trained staff members with personal experience of mental ill-health will be more effective in reducing the stigma associated with help-seeking and help-outreach regarding mental ill-health in the workplace. The comparison group is a standardized mental health literacy training program that has been widely implemented in both Canada and around the world. Change in help-seeking/help-outreach behavior, mental health knowledge and beliefs of participants will be assessed at three-month intervals; before, after and three months following the educational intervention.

Full description

The target sample of 200 employee participants will be recruited from two healthcare organizations. The Beyond Silence program is based on principles of contact-based education, and will include six 1.5-2 hour in-person sessions conducted every other week, interspersed with five online resource sessions. The Mental Health First Aid training is a standardized, 12-hour evidence-based mental health literacy training program that has been implemented in a range of national and international settings. This program is typically offered over two full days.

Enrollment: 216 patients

Sex: All

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Employee (full-time, part-time or contract) in the participating healthcare organization
• Willing and able to participate in 12 hours of training outside of paid work hours
• Able to understand and speak English

Exclusion criteria

• Prior training in either of the two educational approaches

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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216 participants in 2 patient groups

Contact-based mental health education

Experimental group

Description:

The "Beyond Silence' program is 12 hours in length: six 1.5-2 hour in-person group sessions every other week, plus five online sessions between each of the in-person sessions.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Beyond Silence

Mental health literacy training

Active Comparator group

Description:

"Mental Health First Aid" training consists of twelve hours of standardized, module-based mental health literacy training offered in a group format. It will be offered as 2 full-day training sessions (or four half-day sessions).

Treatment:

Behavioral: Mental Health First Aid (MHFA)