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

NCT02158871 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: MBSi14-385
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 216
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 2

Brief Summary

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.

Conditions

Mental Health Impairment

Keywords

Education; Early intervention; Workplace; Stigma; Mental Health Literacy

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Change from baseline in help-seeking behavior

  Participants will be asked to report whether they accessed any services from a list of 10 health, workplace and community service options. Questions regarding service utilization are adapted from the 2012/2012 Canadian Community Health survey, in order to provide a population reference, plus several work-related services (eg. EAP, union) are added as an option. Participants may endorse more than one of the behaviors, and a summative score of the number of behaviors will be used to measure change in help-seeking.

  Baseline, post-intervention, 3 month follow-up

• Change from baseline in help-outreach behavior

  Self-report of personal contact with a co-worker about mental health problems (yes/no), and any contact over the past 6 months (yes/no). If contact did occur, participants will be asked whether they provided help to the co-worker, and if so, to identify the type of help from a list of 10 possible options. The list of "outreach" behaviors was based on Mental Health First Aid program evaluation (e.g. 'spent time listening to problem', 'recommend professional help'), with an adaptation to include a several work-specific options (e.g., 'recommend EAP', 'offered assistance with job duties'). Participants are invited to check all behaviors that apply (with an open-ended option), and scoring is based on one point per action, with a summative score used to track change. In addition to the behavior list, participants will be asked to rate their confidence in providing help on a 7 point Likert scale.

  Baseline, post-intervention, 3 month follow-up

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Change from baseline in degree of stigma towards co-workers with a mental illness

  Baseline, post-intervention, 3 month follow-up

• Change from baseline in mental health literacy

  Baseline, post-intervention, 3 month follow-up

• Change from baseline in attitudes toward professional help-seeking for mental health issues

  Baseline, post-intervention, 3 month follow-up

Study Arms (2)

Contact-based mental health education

EXPERIMENTAL

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.

Behavioral: Beyond Silence

Mental health literacy training

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

"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).

Behavioral: Mental Health First Aid (MHFA)

Interventions

Beyond Silence BEHAVIORAL

Pilot data from initial phases of the project and best practice principles in contact based education and adult learning theory informed curriculum design. The six in-person sessions use workplace-based vignettes to prompt reflection and discussion, build mental health literacy, reduce stigma, and promote communication and coping skill development. The virtual sessions use a secure online discussion board for participants to explore relevant online resources. All sessions will be co-led by trained peer educators; employees who have personally experienced mental ill health and recovery and are viewed as credible leaders within the organization. They will be recruited and trained to effectively teach the content, share personal experiences, and facilitate discussion.

Also known as: Contact-based mental health education

Contact-based mental health education

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) BEHAVIORAL

MHFA is a standardized, twelve-hour educational program designed to teach participants how to recognize the early warning signs of mental illness, how to provide initial help to someone in a mental health crisis, and how to support people who are developing mental health problems. It is an evidence-based approach that originated in Australia, but is being implemented across Canada, under the leadership of the Mental Health Commission of Canada. Leadership of the MHFA will be provided by an employee in each organization who has been trained through the 5-day national MHFA instructor training program. The instructor does not share any personal experiences regarding mental health issues.

Also known as: Mental health literacy training

Mental health literacy training

Eligibility Criteria

• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• 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

You may not qualify if:

• Prior training in either of the two educational approaches

Sponsors & Collaborators

• McMaster University: lead
• Ontario Mental Health Foundation: collaborator
• Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation: collaborator
• St. Joseph's Health Care London: collaborator

Study Sites (2)

Hamilton Health Sciences

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Location

St. Joseph's Healthcare

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Location

Related Publications (2)

• Richardson R, Dale HE, Robertson L, Meader N, Wellby G, McMillan D, Churchill R. Mental Health First Aid as a tool for improving mental health and well-being. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2023 Aug 22;8(8):CD013127. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013127.pub2.

  PMID: 37606172 DERIVED

• Moll S, Patten SB, Stuart H, Kirsh B, MacDermid JC. Beyond silence: protocol for a randomized parallel-group trial comparing two approaches to workplace mental health education for healthcare employees. BMC Med Educ. 2015 Apr 16;15:78. doi: 10.1186/s12909-015-0363-9.

  PMID: 25880303 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Social Stigma

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Social Behavior; Behavior

Study Officials

• Sandra E Moll, PhD

  McMaster University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 29, 2014
• First Posted: June 9, 2014
• Study Start: May 1, 2014
• Primary Completion: March 1, 2016
• Study Completion: March 1, 2016
• Last Updated: March 17, 2016

Record last verified: 2016-03

Locations

CA (2)