Review of Mental Health First Aid Programs

Mental health first aid programs are interventions to empower the community to help people with mental health problems/crises. A review of these programs was conducted in accordance with the guidelines of the Joanna Briggs Institute. Published and unpublished works from 2009 to 2019 were considered. The review included 252 studies. Several Mental Health First Aid programs were identified, with varying characteristics, participants, and contexts of implementation. These group interventions were carried out among lay people to health professionals, and in adolescents to the elderly. Additionally, they were conducted in-person and/or virtually, using psychoeducational methods and informational materials. The programs ranged from 30 minutes to 24 hours. These interventions can address nursing foci, and the characteristics of the facilitators are similar to those of mental health nurses. Therefore, this review highlighted the opportunity for nurses to explore Mental Health First Aid programs.

Mental health first aid programs: a scoping review protocol

OBJECTIVE

This review aims to map mental health first aid programs, and identify the characteristics and participants of such programs and the contexts of their implementation.

INTRODUCTION

Mental health first aid is the help provided to a person developing a mental health problem or undergoing a mental health crisis. The first aid is provided until professional help is accessed or the crisis is resolved.

INCLUSION CRITERIA

This scoping review will address programs that provide basic mental health first aid skills, with no exclusion criteria in terms of participants or contexts.

METHODS

English, Portuguese, and Spanish published studies and unpublished papers, from 2009 to 2019, will be considered. JBI methodology and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews will be followed. The search will be carried out in databases, scientific repositories and reference lists. Duplicates will be removed and two independent reviewers will screen the titles, abstracts and full-text of the selected studies. Data collection will be performed with a tool developed by the researchers, based on JBI's model instrument for extracting study details, characteristics and results. A summary of the results will be presented in visual representations, narratives and tables.