The role of Mental Health First Aid training in nursing education: A response to Happell, Wilson & McNamara (2015)
Section snippets
The aims of MHFA training
Mental health first aid has been defined as “the help offered to a person developing a mental health problem, experiencing a worsening of an existing mental health problem or in a mental health crisis. The first aid is given until appropriate professional help is received or until the crisis resolves” (Kitchener, Jorm, & Kelly, 2015, p. 12). In order to improve the mental health first aid skills of the public, we developed and began delivering the world’s first MHFA training course in Australia
Dissemination of MHFA training
MHFA training has been extensively rolled out in Australia since 2001 and internationally since 2004 (Pham, 2015). As of 2015, over 375,000 people have done a MHFA course, which corresponds to over 2% of the adult population. MHFA training has also spread from Australia to over 20 other countries. As of 2015, over 1 million people had done a MHFA course worldwide.
Research underpinning MHFA
One of the factors behind the rapid spread of MHFA training is the extensive research underpinning the program. The first aid strategies taught in MHFA courses are based around expert consensus guidelines developed using the Delphi method. This method is a systematic way of gaining practice-based evidence from a range of experts (Jorm, 2015). These guidelines cover the best mental health first aid strategies for helping a person developing a mental health problem such as depression (Langlands,
MHFA training of nursing students
In 2012, MHFA Australia successfully applied for funding from the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing for training of ‘frontline workers’. This application covered the training of (1) workers in financial counselling and (2) students training in nursing and medicine. The funding covered tailoring of the Standard MHFA course for these groups, development of eLearning versions of the tailored training, the roll-out of the training, and an evaluation of the training. The roll-out
Points of agreement with Happell and colleagues
Happell et al. (2015) major concern is that MHFA will become part of the core nursing curriculum and this may occur at the expense of other content. They state that “the professional level mental health skills expected at this level exceed the mental health awareness outcomes of MHFA, in a similar way that the more physical health focused areas of nursing exceed the content of the traditional first aid programme. Nursing requires a broader range of interventions to be provided over a longer
Points of disagreement with Happell and colleagues
Happell et al. (2015, p. 436) claim that “MHFA takes a predominantly medical-model approach with a focus on signs and symptoms of mental illness.” We believe that MHFA involves an evidence-based model and supports all approaches that have a good evidence base, whether they be medical, psychological, social or self-help. The bulk of MHFA training is not about signs and symptoms and treatments, but rather what practical actions a member of the public can take to support a person with a mental
Conclusion
In conclusion, we agree with Happell et al. (2015) that MHFA could play a useful role in the training of all nursing students. Indeed, the evidence available supports the benefits of this training to student’s knowledge, attitudes and helping skills. However, it is not sufficient for professional training of nurses in mental health.
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Cited by (14)
Mental Health First Aid training for paramedic students: An evaluation study
2023, Australasian Emergency CareCitation Excerpt :This includes increased self-awareness about their mental health [19,21], increased mental health literacy, and decreased stigma and social distancing attitudes towards people with mental illness [21,22]. Kitchener and Jorm highlight the value of including MHFA in health-professional education as building mental health literacy and supporting peers [17]. However, despite calls to embed specific mental health training [4] and establish a paramedic pathway to mental health [3], to the best of our knowledge there is no published research/evaluation of MHFA inclusion within undergraduate paramedic programmes.
Effectiveness of the Mental Health First Aid programme for general nursing students in Hong Kong: A randomised controlled trial
2021, CollegianCitation Excerpt :Although recent studies have aroused concerns and discussion regarding the role of MHFA training in Australian undergraduate mental health nursing education (Happell & McAllister, 2015; Kitchener & Jorm, 2017), the advantages of MHFA for local general nursing students cannot be underestimated. MHFA training is not intended to replace mental health education in the pre-registration nursing curriculum (Happell & McAllister, 2015; Kitchener & Jorm, 2017), but it clearly can enrich the mental-health knowledge of future general nurses, and thereby help them provide holistic care for patients with physical and mental comorbidities in Hong Kong. In addition, we suggest that MHFA could be promoted as a compulsory subject for junior healthcare students, who lack sophistication in caring for people with mental health issues.
The Long-Term Outcomes of Mental Health First Aid Training for University Students
2023, Psychological StudiesThe Effects of Mental Health First Aid Preparation on Nursing Student Self-Efficacy in their Response to Mental Health Issues
2023, Quality Advancement in Nursing EducationNurses’ perspective about the Mental Health First Aid Training Programmes for adolescents in upper secondary schools: A focus group study
2022, Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing