Clinical trial NCT02158871: Impact Study of Workplace Mental Health Education on Early Intervention for Healthcare Workers With Mental Health Issues
Official title: Beyond Silence: Comparing the Impact of Contact-based Education With Mental Health Literacy Training on Early Intervention for Healthcare Workers With Mental Health Issues
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Mental Health Impairment
Keywords: Education
Early intervention
Workplace
Stigma
Mental Health Literacy
Lead sponsor: McMaster University
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Ontario Mental Health Foundation
name: Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation
name: St. Joseph's Health Care London
First posted: 2014-06-09
Enrollment: 216
Sex: ALL
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: SUPPORTIVE_CARE

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.

Detailed 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.

Eligibility criteria: 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

Primary outcomes:
measure: Change from baseline in help-seeking behavior
timeFrame: Baseline, post-intervention, 3 month follow-up
measure: Change from baseline in help-outreach behavior
timeFrame: Baseline, post-intervention, 3 month follow-up
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Change from baseline in degree of stigma towards co-workers with a mental illness
timeFrame: Baseline, post-intervention, 3 month follow-up
measure: Change from baseline in mental health literacy
timeFrame: Baseline, post-intervention, 3 month follow-up
measure: Change from baseline in attitudes toward professional help-seeking for mental health issues
timeFrame: Baseline, post-intervention, 3 month follow-up
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Hamilton
country: Canada
facility: Hamilton Health Sciences
state: Ontario
city: Hamilton
country: Canada
facility: St. Joseph's Healthcare
state: Ontario
Study officials:
affiliation: McMaster University
name: Sandra E Moll, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: 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.