Mental health first aid (MHFA) training in pharmacy practice: A pre- and post-MHFA training survey study

Mental health first aid (MHFA) is an evidence-based approach found to improve awareness, reduce stigma, and increase confidence in interacting with people experiencing a mental health problem or crisis. Limited research evaluated the role of MHFA training for pharmacists in Canada.

To evaluate the level of confidence, attitudes, and knowledge of Manitoba pharmacists and fourth-year pharmacy students in providing mental health services in practice before and after MHFA training.

A pre- and post-MHFA training survey study was used to evaluate changes in self-efficacy, social distancing, mental health knowledge, and attitudes towards mental illness. Pharmacists and fourth-year pharmacy students in Manitoba were recruited through email advertisement. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to evaluate change in agreement to Self-Efficacy, Index of Attitudes Toward Mental Illness, and Social Distance Scale statements pre- and post-training. Common themes were identified from open-ended responses by applying line-by-line coding in the analysis.

A total of 13 community pharmacists and 2 pharmacy students completed the study. Overall, no statistically significant changes in participants' self-efficacy, mental health literacy, and stigmatizing attitudes were observed pre- and postintervention. The only detected statistically significant change was on the statement "Assess for risk of suicide and harm" from the Self-Efficacy Scale (46.7% pre- vs 100% postintervention responded that they were confident; P = 0.008). Open-ended responses revealed the need for improved awareness of province-specific mental health resources and access to mental health training specifically designed for health care providers.

MHFA training improved pharmacist and pharmacy student confidence in assessing risk of suicide and harm post-MHFA training compared to pretraining. While no significant changes in self-efficacy, mental health literacy, and stigmatizing attitudes were observed, this may be due to the higher-than-average interest in MHFA training among participants. These findings will help inform the development of a mental health training program specific to pharmacists.