SynthesisPsychiatric services (Washington, D.C.)2022
Mental Health First Aid: A Systematic Review of Trainee Behavior and Recipient Mental Health Outcomes.
Synthesis in Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
19 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 51 citations in OpenAlex.
- Mental health first aid training and assessment for healthcare professionals and medical nursing students: a systematic review.BMC psychology · 2025Pooled it
- Mental Health First Aid as a tool for improving mental health and well-being.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Assessment of Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors Toward Others' Mental Disorders to Improve Mental Health First Aid: Cross-Sectional Study in a French Workplace.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2026Article
- Participant Perceptions of Continued Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Engagement, Help-Seeking Behavior, and Stigma Reduction: A Mixed-Methods Pilot Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Evaluation of the Older Person Mental Health First Aid Course: Effects on Knowledge, Stigmatizing Attitudes, and Helping Behaviors.Journal of applied gerontology : the official journal of the Southern Gerontological Society · 2026Article
- Revisiting the knowledge concept of mental health literacy and its relationships with stigma.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Bioecological attributes of learning adaptation among nursing freshmen during pandemic-induced isolation: a latent profile analysis.BMC nursing · 2026Article
- A pilot study of Brazilian-adapted MHFA-informed program.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Heterogeneity in Unmet Treatment Need and Barriers to Accessing Mental Health Services Among U.S. Military Service Members with Serious Psychological Distress.Administration and policy in mental health · 2025Article
- The Body Can Balance the Score: Using a Somatic Self-Care Intervention to Support Well-Being and Promote Healing.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- The Communities Organizing for Power Through Empathy (COPE) Community-Based Intervention to Improve Adult Mental Health During Disasters and Crises: Protocol for a Stepped-Wedge Cluster Randomized Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- Collaborating to support school reintegration following suicide-related crises: Voices from the field.Psychological services · 2025Article
- Receiving support for mental health problems from family and friends: Measurement and impact on mental health, relationships, and help-seeking.PLOS mental health · 2025Article
- Cultural adaptation of the Mental Health Support Scale for Chile and Argentina.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2025Article
- A qualitative exploration of mental health first aid training in underserved communities facing repeated extreme weather events.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Help-seeking intentions of UK construction workers: a cross-sectional study.Occupational medicine (Oxford, England) · 2024Article
- Adolescent mental health interventions: a narrative review of the positive effects of physical activity and implementation strategies.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Review
- The Community Resiliency Model, an interoceptive awareness tool to support population mental wellness.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2023Article
- Changing Our Mental and Emotional Trajectory (COMET): The Feasibility and Acceptability of a Rural Community-Based Strategy to Prevent Mental and Emotional Health Problems.Journal of primary care & community healthArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveMental Health First Aid (MHFA) is a globally disseminated course that trains members of the public to recognize and respond to mental health issues in their communities. Although substantial evidence suggests that MHFA training is associated with positive changes in knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral intent, little is known about how MHFA trainee-delivered aid supports mental health needs. This systematic review sought to summarize the extant research evaluating MHFA trainees' helping behaviors and the impacts of these behaviors on people experiencing a mental health problem (i.e., recipients).
methodsElectronic databases were searched for MHFA evaluations published before or on March 9, 2021. Studies that evaluated at least one outcome related to trainee helping behavior or recipient mental health were included in the synthesis. Outcomes were organized into three categories: trainee use of MHFA skills, helpfulness of trainees' actions, and recipients' mental health. Only studies that compared pre- and posttraining outcomes, included a control group, and directly evaluated MHFA were used to assess its efficacy.
resultsThe search identified 31 studies, nine of which met criteria to assess MHFA efficacy. The findings of the nine studies indicated that MHFA had mixed effects on trainees using the skills taught in the course and no effects on the helpfulness of trainees' actions or on recipient mental health.
conclusionsThe findings indicate that there is insufficient current evidence that MHFA improves the helping behaviors of trainees or the mental health of those receiving helping behaviors. They highlight a crucial research gap that should be prioritized as MHFA continues to grow in popularity.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.