scholarly journals Frequency and quality of first aid offered by older adolescents: a cluster randomised crossover trial of school-based first aid courses

PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e9782
Author(s):  
Alyssia Rossetto ◽  
Amy J. Morgan ◽  
Laura M. Hart ◽  
Claire M. Kelly ◽  
Anthony F. Jorm
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Crossover Trial ◽  
Wound Care ◽  
First Aid ◽  
Measurement Occasion ◽  
School Based ◽  
Cluster Randomised ◽  
First Aid Training ◽  
Older Adolescents ◽  
To Receive

Background Research indicates that school-based first aid programmes appear to improve students’ knowledge and skills. However, evidence for their effectiveness is limited by a lack of rigorously designed studies. This research used a cluster randomised crossover trial to assess the effects of two different types of first aid training on the frequency and appropriateness of older adolescents’ first aid behaviours towards their peers 12 months after training. Methods Schools eligible to participate were government funded and able to accommodate first aid training and survey time for two consecutive Year 10 student cohorts. Four Australian public schools were matched in two pairs and randomly assigned to receive either physical first aid (PFA) or teen mental health first aid (tMHFA) training for their Year 10 student cohort (mean age 16 years). In the second year, the new Year 10 cohort received the other intervention. Four cohorts were randomised to receive PFA and four were randomised to receive tMHFA. Online surveys were administered at baseline and 12 months after training, measuring whether students had encountered a peer needing PFA, whether they had provided PFA, what actions they performed and, if applicable, why they had been unable to help the person. Only research staff analysing the data could be blinded to measurement occasion, school identity and condition. Results Four cohorts received PFA and four received tMHFA. The results indicated that there were no differences between groups regarding the frequency of appropriate first aid actions performed 12 months after training. The most common types of PFA provided to a peer were sending for help and wound care. Students most commonly mentioned someone else attending to their peer or lacking skills or experience as reasons for not performing PFA actions. Conclusions More research that examines first aid behaviours using rigorous, longitudinal study designs is needed to establish the effectiveness of school-based first aid training for older adolescents.

scholarly journals Effect of community members' willingness to disclose a mental disorder on their psychiatric symptom scores: analysis of data from two randomised controlled trials of mental health first aid training

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. F. Jorm ◽  
A. J. Mackinnon ◽  
L. M. Hart ◽  
N. J. Reavley ◽  
A. J. Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychiatric Symptom ◽  
Psychiatric Symptoms ◽  
First Aid ◽  
Panel Analysis ◽  
First Aid Training ◽  
Willingness To Disclose ◽  
Symptom Scores ◽  
Randomised Controlled ◽  
To Receive

Abstract Aims The prevalence of common mental disorders has not declined in high-income countries despite substantial increases in service provision. A possible reason for this lack of improvement is that greater willingness to disclose mental disorders might have led to increased reporting of psychiatric symptoms, thus masking reductions in prevalence. This masking hypothesis was tested using data from two trials of interventions that increased willingness to disclose and that also measured symptoms. Both interventions involved Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training, which is known to reduce stigma, including unwillingness to disclose a mental health problem. Methods A cross-lagged panel analysis was carried out on data from two large Australian randomised controlled trials of MHFA training. The first trial involved 1643 high school students in Year 10 (mean age 15.87 years), who were randomised to receive either teen MHFA training or physical first aid training as the control. The second trial involved 608 Australia public servants who were randomised to receive either eLearning MHFA, blended eLearning MHFA or eLearning physical first aid as the control. In both trials, willingness to disclose a mental disorder as described in vignettes and psychiatric symptoms (K6 scale) were measured pre-training, post-training and at 12-month follow-up. Results Both trials found that MHFA training increased willingness to disclose. However, a cross-lagged panel analysis showed no effect of this change on psychiatric symptom scores. Conclusions Greater willingness to disclose did not affect psychiatric symptom scores. Because the trials increased willingness to disclose through a randomly assigned intervention, they provide a strong causal test of the masking hypothesis. It is therefore unlikely that changes in willingness to disclose are masking reductions in prevalence in the population.

teen Mental Health First Aid as a school-based intervention for improving peer support of adolescents at risk of suicide: Outcomes from a cluster randomised crossover trial

2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 382-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura M Hart ◽  
Penny Cropper ◽  
Amy J Morgan ◽  
Claire M Kelly ◽  
Anthony F Jorm
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
At Risk ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
First Aid ◽  
Mental Health First Aid ◽  
School Based ◽  
Cluster Randomised ◽  
Psychological Distress Scale ◽  
Distress Scale ◽  
Kessler Psychological Distress Scale

Objectives: The aims of this study were to assess evidence for a novel, universal mental health literacy programme in the school setting (teen Mental Health First Aid) as an intervention to improve peer support towards adolescents at risk of suicide and to examine whether participation in a school-based programme dealing with suicide was distressing to participants. Method: In a cluster randomised crossover trial, Australian high school students aged 15–17 years ( N = 1605, 44.74% female, Mage = 15.87) received either teen Mental Health First Aid or a matched control physical first aid course. Data were collected before, immediately after and 12 months after training through online surveys assessing correct recognition of suicidality and intentions to help a fictional peer (John) who was depicted as experiencing depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts in a vignette. Students were also asked whether any information in the training or surveys was found distressing and completed a validated measure of psychological distress (the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale). Results: Students receiving teen Mental Health First Aid training were much more likely to report an increase from pre- to post-training in recognition of suicidality (OR = 1.97, 95% CI = [1.14, 3.39], p = 0.02) and appropriate first aid intentions towards a peer at risk of suicide than students receiving physical first aid (OR = 35.40, 95% CI = [19.86, 63.14], p < 0.001). Twelve months after training, most effects were still significant. Although a greater proportion of teen Mental Health First Aid participants self-reported feeling briefly distressed after the training, there was no evidence of greater distress at 12 months on the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale. Conclusion: teen Mental Health First Aid is effective in increasing recognition of and intentions to assist a suicidal peer. Although the open discussion of mental health first aid for a suicidal peer was distressing for some students, results suggest this was transient and not associated with harm. Future studies are required to ascertain whether these increases are indeed associated with better provision of support and prevention of youth suicide.

scholarly journals Helping adolescents to better support their peers with a mental health problem: A cluster-randomised crossover trial of teen Mental Health First Aid

2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (7) ◽  
pp. 638-651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura M Hart ◽  
Amy J Morgan ◽  
Alyssia Rossetto ◽  
Claire M Kelly ◽  
Andrew Mackinnon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Mental Health Literacy ◽  
Crossover Trial ◽  
Training Programme ◽  
First Aid ◽  
Medium Effect ◽  
Mental Health First Aid ◽  
Significant Group ◽  
Cluster Randomised

Background: teen Mental Health First Aid (tMHFA) is a classroom-based training programme for students aged 15–18 years to improve supportive behaviours towards peers, increase mental health literacy and reduce stigma. This research evaluated tMHFA by comparing it to a matched emergency Physical First Aid (PFA) training programme. Methods: A cluster-randomised crossover trial matched four public schools in two pairs and then randomised each to first receive tMHFA or PFA for all Year 10 students. In the subsequent calendar year, the new Year 10 cohort received the opposite intervention, giving eight cohorts. Online surveys were administered at baseline and 1 week post-training, measuring quality of first aid intentions, mental health literacy, problem recognition and stigmatising beliefs, towards fictional adolescents with depression and suicidality (John) and social anxiety (Jeanie). Results: A total of 1942 students were randomised (979 received tMHFA, 948 received PFA), 1605 (84%) analysed for the John vignette at baseline and 1116 (69% of baseline) provided post-training data. The primary outcomes, ‘helpful first aid intentions’ towards John/Jeanie, showed significant group-by-time interactions with medium effect sizes favouring tMHFA ( ds = 0.50–0.58). Compared to PFA, tMHFA students also reported significantly greater improvements in confidence supporting a peer ( ds = 0.22–0.37) and number of adults rated as helpful ( ds = 0.45–0.46) and greater reductions in stigmatising beliefs ( ds = 0.12–0.40) and ‘harmful first aid intentions’ towards John/Jeanie ( ds = 0.15–0.41). Conclusions: tMHFA is an effective and feasible programme for increasing supportive first aid intentions and mental health literacy in adolescents in the short term. tMHFA could be widely disseminated to positively impact on help seeking for adolescent mental illness.

scholarly journals Students and Emergency Medicine: what is the standard level of first aid knowledge?

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Kujawa
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Situation ◽  
First Aid ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Life Saving ◽  
First Aid Training ◽  
Medium Level ◽  
Chi Square Test ◽  
Level Of Knowledge ◽  
The Difference ◽  
To Receive

Background. First aid is a critical skill, and knowing how to perform it may ultimately save a person’s life. Aim of the study. The aim of the study was to assess the level of first aid knowledge among students from three backgrounds: medicine, science, and the humanities. Materials and methods. The authors surveyed a group of 180 fifth-year physiotherapy, geoinformatics, and psychology students, of which there were 60 from each discipline. The authors used an anonymous survey of their own design, composed of open- and closed-ended questions, which included 15 questions about first aid rules. The research was conducted in Wrocław, Poland. Results. Only 60 students (30.33%) had previously had the opportunity to receive first aid training during the course of their studies. An additional 100 students (55.56%) claimed they were familiar with first aid rules. Of the physiotherapy students, 32 (53.3%) declared they would remain calm and composed in an emergency situation, with men claiming they would remain more composed than women. The difference in behaviour turned out to be statistically significant; the value of the chi-square test was 13.74. Students who had had prior first aid training at university were the most familiar with life-saving techniques and claimed they would remain the most composed in an emergency situation (32 students from physiotherapy; 53:3%). Prior to taking the first aid exam, the majority of students (100 respondents; 55.6% of the total) were confident that they would obtain the maximum number of points possible on the test. However, upon completion, they were found to have a medium level of knowledge at 889 points out of 1,500, or 59%. Conclusions. The level of first aid knowledge among university students should be dramatically improved, so they are able to perform first aid with some level of expertise, should the need ever arise. To facilitate this, every university should include first aid classes in their curriculum. First aid techniques should be revised and refreshed every six months.

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