The Effects of Mental Health First Aid Preparation on Nursing Student Self-Efficacy in Their Response to Mental Health Issues

Abstract

Background: Past studies show a high prevalence of nursing students experience depressive symptoms at varying levels of severity. Teaching nursing students early in their studies how to recognize these symptoms in themselves, their peers, or clients, and how to take appropriate action, may promote better outcomes. Studies in Australia and England have found that mental health first aid (MHFA) increases nursing students’ self-confidence when supporting those experiencing mental health crises. Limited Canadian studies regarding MHFA training exist.

Purpose: To examine the effect of MHFA training on the self-efficacy of nursing students to deliver mental health first aid in a clinical setting and among peers.

Methods: Participants for this study included 22 volunteer first- or second-year students from a 3-year accelerated Canadian Baccalaureate nursing program. Each volunteer answered three demographic questions and ranked their confidence level on a 100-point scale to perform five situation-specific MHFA actions for each of two scenarios (peer and clinical). Questionnaires were completed by participants before and after attending a 2-day, 14-hour training course on MHFA.

Results: Paired t-tests performed on each questionnaire item revealed significant increases in confidence levels to perform situation-specific mental health first aid actions for each scenario from pre- to post-training. Cronbach’s alpha results show acceptable internal reliability for the five-item questionnaires (pre- and post-test for each scenario).

Conclusion: Mental health first aid training appears to improve the self-efficacy of nursing students to deliver MHFA actions to clients and peers experiencing mental health crises.