Trial reportBMC medical education2020
Confidence and motivation to help those with a mental health problem: experiences from a study of nursing students completing mental health first aid (MHFA) training.
Trial report in BMC medical education, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Mental health first aid training and assessment for healthcare professionals and medical nursing students: a systematic review.BMC psychology · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of a Nursing Intervention Based on a Solution-Focused Approach on Renal Transplant Recipients' Anxiety, Depression, and Quality of Life.Journal of nursing management · 2023Trial
- Knowledge-driven or motivation-driven? Validation and comparison of health participation pathways across different elementary grade levels.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Student-led implementation of Mental Health First Aid training in undergraduate medical education.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- An Evaluation of Mental Health First Aid Officer Utilisation Across an International, Interdisciplinary Oncology Group.Journal of medical radiation sciences · 2025Article
- Exploring what works in mental health education for health profession students: a realist review.BMC medical education · 2025Review
- Exploring practice staffs' perspectives regarding professional roles, confidence, and motivations in delivering mental health care within rural general practice: a qualitative exploration.BMC primary care · 2024Article
- Encountering suffering in digital care: a qualitative study of providers' experiences in telemental health care.BMC health services research · 2023Article
- Influences of Comprehensive Psychological Intervention on the Psychological Behavior Problems and Learning Adaptability of Students at Age of 6-12 Years Old.Iranian journal of public health · 2023Article
- A COVID-19 Call to Action: Psychological First Aid Training for Medical Professionals and Trainees.Academic psychiatry : the journal of the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training and the Association for Academic Psychiatry · 2022Article
- Cultural adaptation of the guidelines for offering mental health first aid to a person after a potentially traumatic event: a delphi expert consensus study in Brazil.BMC psychiatry · 2022Article
- Mental Health First Aid training and assessment in Australian medical, nursing and pharmacy curricula: a national perspective using content analysis.BMC medical education · 2022Article
- Adaptation and Validation of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire for Spanish Adolescents.European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education · 2021Article
- Motivations and Experiences of Volunteering Medical Students in the COVID-19 Pandemic-Results of a Survey in Germany.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThose studying nursing are at greater risk for developing mental health problems than other tertiary students. Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training may assist students to support peers and build mental health literacy. Understanding motivation to participate in training can identify factors influencing uptake and completion. This paper explores motivators for university nursing students to participate in MHFA training and uses previous experience and confidence in assisting someone with a mental health problem to triangulate data.
methodA randomised controlled trial was employed to measure the impact of the course for nursing students at a large Western Australian university. An online survey was administered prior to MHFA training with undergraduate nursing students (n = 140). Thematic analysis of open-ended questions explores motivators to participate and help provided to an individual. Baseline frequencies describe demographics, confidence in helping and exposure to someone with a mental health problem. A Chi Square test compared confidence in helping and exposure to someone with a mental health problem.
resultsMore than half of participants reported contact with individuals experiencing mental health problems (55%; n = 77); approximately a third (35.8%) reported limited confidence to assist. Those in previous contact with someone with a mental health problem (71.5%; n = 55) were significantly more likely to feel confident in helping (p = 0.044). Mental health literacy, helping others, career and experiences were described as training motivators.
conclusionExploiting motivators, both intrinsic and extrinsic may increase MHFA training uptake and completion. Tertiary institutions would benefit from policy to embed MHFA training into nursing degrees. The training may have utility for university degrees more broadly.
trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry; ACTRN12614000861651. Registered 11 August 2014 (retrospectively registered).
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.