Mental Health First Aid Training as a Wellness Initiative for First Year Medical Students

The vital need to identify mental health concerns and appropriate supportive interventions has, rightfully so, been an area of concern within medical education. However, barriers such as mental health stigma and isolation within experiences may inaccurately amplify students' concerns that if mental health needs are acknowledged, they will represent a threat to achieving personal and professional goals. In turn, this may decrease receptivity and impact of mental health interventions. This initiative sought to assess whether a standardized wellness training which addresses mental health stigma would be feasible and well-received by medical students.

Within our medical school, we have implemented Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training to all incoming first-year medical students prior to the start of their academic training. This empirically based program is provided in the institution and utilizes peer support to recognize and intervene on mental health challenges while also educating on recovery-based models. Students completed MHFA training and exit surveys assessing perceptions of the training and benefits.

Eighty-nine of 170 students completed the post-MHFA survey. About 81.6% indicated they would take another MHFA course while 96.6% found it "somewhat" or "very relevant." Addressing the applicability of MHFA, 35.7% had a family member with a lived experience of mental illness and 22.6% indicated they identify as a person with a mental health experience. Overall, 71% felt this course better prepared for the work that they do professionally.

Although there are limitations including possibility of response bias of those who completed the survey, we posit that MHFA is a well-received intervention which provides tangible wellness tools within a context of reducing mental health stigma.