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Mental Health First Aid for College Students

NCT ID: NCT02021344

Last Updated: 2013-12-27

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

2543 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2009-09-30

Study Completion Date

2011-05-31

Brief Summary

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Most college students with mental disorders do not receive treatment, and over 80% of those who die by suicide have never made contact with campus mental health services. Knowledge, stigma, and other health beliefs represent significant barriers to help-seeking for many of these students. However, there have been no large-scale intervention studies for reducing these barriers to mental health treatment on college campuses. This project will fill this gap by determining whether a community mental health education program, Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), is an effective method to increase number of students who seek mental health services on college campuses. MHFA is an international, 12-hour training program that has been shown to increase knowledge of mental illnesses and their treatments, decrease stigma, and increase helping behaviors in community members. However, it has not been tested in a college setting in the United States. To determine the effectiveness of MHFA in US colleges, the proposed project will involve a randomized control trial of the MHFA training program on 32 campuses representing a range of higher education institutions, from community colleges in rural areas to research universities in large, urban areas. The MHFA training program will be administered to peer supports such as residential advisors. Administrative data from campus mental health services and pre- and post-intervention surveys will be used to collect outcome data on service utilization, knowledge, attitudes, and other measures. Data analyses will focus on identifying changes in students' behaviors, knowledge, and attitudes toward mental illnesses that can be attributed to the MHFA training. In addition to testing a novel and timely mental health intervention for college students, this project will result in improved data collection measures for college populations, and will lay the foundation for stronger connections and future collaborations between diverse campus communities. If the MHFA program is successful in reducing stigma and increasing general on-campus awareness and early treatment of emerging mental health problems, then it may provide a cost-effective means for enabling more students to seek early treatments for developing mental health problems.

Detailed Description

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Conditions

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Depression Anxiety Suicidal Ideation Eating Disorders

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Pure control

Practice as usual (no MHFA) in all residences on these campuses.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Intervention residence on mixed campus

Mental Health First Aid delivered to these residences, but not all other residences at the same campus.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Mental Health First Aid

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Originally developed in 2001, MHFA is a 12-hour course comprised of six modules, covering depression, anxiety, psychosis, substance abuse, eating disorders, and self-harm. Each module includes information about the mental health-related problems (e.g., signs and symptoms), advice on how to respond appropriately, and interactive activities to enhance the learning process. Some modules include videos with perspectives of individuals recovering from mental disorders and examples of how to effectively use the MHFA intervention. Program participants learn how to help individuals in crisis and also how to recognize early warning signs and intervene before mental health problems progress to crises.

Pure intervention residence

Mental Health First Aid delivered to this residence and all other residences at the same campus

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Mental Health First Aid

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Originally developed in 2001, MHFA is a 12-hour course comprised of six modules, covering depression, anxiety, psychosis, substance abuse, eating disorders, and self-harm. Each module includes information about the mental health-related problems (e.g., signs and symptoms), advice on how to respond appropriately, and interactive activities to enhance the learning process. Some modules include videos with perspectives of individuals recovering from mental disorders and examples of how to effectively use the MHFA intervention. Program participants learn how to help individuals in crisis and also how to recognize early warning signs and intervene before mental health problems progress to crises.

Control at mixed campus

Practice as usual (no MHFA) at this residence, but some other residences at same campus are in experimental condition (MHFA).

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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Mental Health First Aid

Originally developed in 2001, MHFA is a 12-hour course comprised of six modules, covering depression, anxiety, psychosis, substance abuse, eating disorders, and self-harm. Each module includes information about the mental health-related problems (e.g., signs and symptoms), advice on how to respond appropriately, and interactive activities to enhance the learning process. Some modules include videos with perspectives of individuals recovering from mental disorders and examples of how to effectively use the MHFA intervention. Program participants learn how to help individuals in crisis and also how to recognize early warning signs and intervene before mental health problems progress to crises.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Student enrolled in a participating campus as a full-time, residential undergraduate during the 2009-2010 or 2010-2011 academic years. Student must have been living in a participating residence hall.

Exclusion Criteria

* Students under 18 years of age.
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

NIH

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of Michigan

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Daniel Eisenberg

Associate Professor, Department of Health Management & Policy

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Daniel Eisenberg, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Michigan

Nicole L Speer, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Colorado, Denver

Locations

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University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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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.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 37606172 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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1RC1MH089757-01

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

NIMH 1RC1MH089757-01

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id