Orygen Youth Health Research Centre, Centre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
Int J Ment Health Syst. 2011 Jan 27;5(1):4. doi: 10.1186/1752-4458-5-4.
Adolescence is the peak age of onset for mental illness, with half of all people who will ever have a mental illness experiencing their first episode prior to 18 years of age. Early onset of mental illness is a significant predictor for future episodes. However, adolescents and young adults are less likely than the population as a whole to either seek or receive treatment for a mental illness. The knowledge and attitudes of the adults in an adolescent's life may affect whether or not help is sought, and how quickly. In 2007, the Youth Mental Health First Aid Program was launched in Australia with the aim to teach adults, who work with or care for adolescents, the skills needed to recognise the early signs of mental illness, identify potential mental health-related crises, and assist adolescents to get the help they need as early as possible. This paper provides a description of the program, some initial evaluation and an outline of future directions.
The program was evaluated in two ways. The first was an uncontrolled trial with 246 adult members of the Australian public, who completed questionnaires immediately before attending the 14 hour course, one month later and six months later. Outcome measures were: recognition of schizophrenia or depression; intention to offer and confidence in offering assistance; stigmatising attitudes; knowledge about adolescent mental health problems and also about the Mental Health First Aid action plan. The second method of evaluation was to track the uptake of the program, including the number of instructors trained across Australia to deliver the course, the number of courses they delivered, and the uptake of the YMHFA Program in other countries.
The uncontrolled trial found improvements in: recognition of schizophrenia; confidence in offering help; stigmatising attitudes; knowledge about adolescent mental health problems and application of the Mental Health First Aid action plan. Most results were maintained at follow-up. Over the first 3 years of this program, a total of 318 instructors were trained to deliver the course and these instructors have delivered courses to 10,686 people across all states and territories in Australia. The program has also spread to Canada, Singapore and England, and will spread to Hong Kong, Sweden and China in the near future.
Initial evaluation suggests that the Youth Mental Health First Aid course improves participants' knowledge, attitudes and helping behaviour. The program has spread successfully both nationally and internationally.
ACTRN12609000033246.
青春期是精神疾病发病的高峰期，有一半的精神疾病患者会在 18 岁之前首次出现精神疾病。精神疾病的早期发作是未来发作的重要预测因素。然而，青少年和年轻人寻求或接受精神疾病治疗的可能性低于整个人口。青少年生活中的成年人的知识和态度可能会影响是否寻求帮助，以及帮助的速度。2007 年，澳大利亚启动了青少年心理健康急救计划，旨在教授与青少年一起工作或照顾他们的成年人识别精神疾病早期迹象、识别潜在的心理健康相关危机的技能，并帮助青少年尽早获得所需的帮助。本文介绍了该计划的情况、一些初步评估结果以及未来的发展方向。
该计划通过两种方式进行评估。第一种是一项无对照试验，共有 246 名澳大利亚公众成年人参加，他们在参加 14 小时课程前、一个月后和六个月后立即填写问卷。结果指标为：识别精神分裂症或抑郁症；提供帮助的意愿和信心；污名化态度；青少年心理健康问题的知识，以及心理健康急救行动计划。第二种评估方法是跟踪该计划的实施情况，包括在澳大利亚培训的讲师人数、他们教授的课程数量以及该计划在其他国家的采用情况。
无对照试验发现，以下方面有所改善：对精神分裂症的识别；提供帮助的信心；污名化态度；青少年心理健康问题的知识和心理健康急救行动计划的应用。大多数结果在随访时得以维持。在该计划的头 3 年里，共有 318 名讲师接受了培训，这些讲师已在澳大利亚所有州和地区向 10686 人教授了该课程。该计划还扩展到了加拿大、新加坡和英国，并将在不久的将来扩展到中国香港、瑞典和中国。
初步评估表明，青少年心理健康急救课程提高了参与者的知识、态度和帮助行为。该计划在国内外都取得了成功的传播。
ACTRN12609000033246。
