Can an online mental health training programme improve physician supervisors' behaviour towards trainees?

Physician trainees have elevated rates of psychological distress, mental disorders and suicide. Physician supervisors can support the mental health needs of trainees.

To test the feasibility and acceptability of a tailored online mental health training programme and to ascertain the potential effectiveness of the programme to alter the confidence and behaviours of physician supervisors.

Thirty Australian hospital-based physicians who were supervising physician trainees participated in this quasi-experimental pre-post pilot study. All received the intervention that comprised 12 5-min modules to complete over a 3-week period. Baseline and post-intervention data were collected. The primary outcome evaluated participants' confidence to respond to trainees experiencing mental ill-health and promote a mentally healthy workplace. Secondary outcomes evaluated change in self-reported behaviour, mental health knowledge and stigmatising attitudes. Differences in mean scale scores for each outcome measure from baseline and post-intervention were compared using paired sample t-tests.

Thirty physicians completed the baseline assessment and 23 (76.7%) completed all programme modules. Most participants found the programme engaging, interesting and useful. Post-intervention data, available for 25 (83.3%) participants, showed a significant increase in participants' knowledge of their role in supporting trainees under their supervision (P = 0.002), confidence to initiate conversations about mental health with staff (P < 0.001), and application of preventive and responsive supervisory behaviours to support the mental health needs of those they supervise (P < 0.001).

This online mental health training programme for physician supervisors was feasible and associated with improved confidence and behaviour to support the mental health needs of trainees they supervised.