ABSTRACT
Males are at higher risk of death by suicide than females in Australia, and among men, blue-collar males are at higher risk compared to other working males. In response, MATES in Construction developed a workplace suicide prevention program for the construction sector in 2007 that has been widely implemented in Australia. In the current project, this program is being adapted and trialled in the manufacturing sector. The common aims of MATES programs are to improve suicide prevention literacy, help-seeking intentions, and helping behaviours. The program will be evaluated using a cluster randomised-controlled trial design with waitlist controls across up to 12 manufacturing worksites in Australia. We hypothesise that after 8 months of the MATES in Manufacturing program, there will be significantly greater improvements in help-seeking intentions (primary outcome) compared to waitlist controls. The project is led by Deakin University in collaboration with the University of Melbourne, and in partnership with MATES in Construction and a joint labour-management Steering Group.Trial registration: The trial was registered retrospectively with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry on 25 January 2022 (ACTRN12622000122752).Protocol version: 2.0, November 2022.
Subject(s)
Suicide Prevention , Suicide , Female , Male , Humans , Australia , Retrospective Studies , Workplace , Manufacturing Industry , Program Evaluation , Randomized Controlled Trials as TopicABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Financial distress is thought to be a key reason why small-medium enterprise (SME) owners experience higher levels of mental health conditions compared with the broader population. Business advisors who form trusting, high-quality relationships with their SME clients, are therefore well placed to: (1) help prevent/reduce key sources of financial distress, (2) better understand the business and personal needs of their clients and, (3) recognise the signs and symptoms of mental health conditions and encourage help-seeking where appropriate. The aim of this study is to compare the effectiveness of relationship building training (RBT) combined with mental health first aid (MHFA) training for business advisors with MHFA alone, on the financial and mental health of their SME-owner clients. METHODS: This is a single blind, two-arm randomised controlled trial. Participants will be business advisors who provide information, guidance and/or assistance to SME owner clients and are in contact with them at least 3 times a year. The business advisors will invite their SME-owner clients to complete 3 online surveys at baseline, 6- and 12-months. Business advisors will be randomised to one of two conditions, using a 1:1 allocation ratio: (1) MHFA with RBT; or (2) MHFA alone, and complete 3 online surveys at baseline, 2- and 6-months. Primary outcomes will be measured in the business advisors and consist of the quality of the relationship, stigmatizing attitude, confidence to offer mental health first aid, quality of life and provision of mental health first aid. Secondary outcomes will be measured in the SME owners and includes trust in their business advisors, the quality of this relationship, financial wellbeing, financial distress, psychological distress, help-seeking behaviour, and quality of life. To complement the quantitative data, we will include a qualitative process evaluation to examine what contextual factors impacted the reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance of the training. DISCUSSION: As there is evidence for the connections between client trust, quality of relationship and financial and mental wellbeing, we hypothesise that the combined RBT and MHFA training will lead to greater improvements in these outcomes in SME owners compared with MHFA alone. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov : NCT04982094 . Retrospectively registered 29/07/2021. The study started in February 2021 and the recruitment is ongoing.
Subject(s)
Health Literacy , Mental Health , Humans , Quality of Life , Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic , Single-Blind Method , TrustABSTRACT
There are growing concerns about the mental health of university students, with particular concerns for international students studying in countries with different language and culture from the country of origin. We sought to explore the challenges and opportunities for supporting and improving the health and wellbeing of international students through interviews with health and other support services staff at an Australian University. Semi-structured interviews with a range of health and support services staff were conducted in person or by telephone in late 2018. Staff were asked about their perceptions of 1) health and wellbeing issues for international students, 2) barriers to international students accessing campus-based services for health and wellbeing concerns, and 3) strategies to improve international students’ health and wellbeing. Transcribed interviews were analysed thematically. Mental health/illness was identified as the most important health and wellbeing concern for international students. Barriers to help-seeking included fear of repercussions for coming forward, lack of problem and symptom recognition, poor understanding of health information, cultural stigma associated with counselling and language barriers. A tendency among international students to delay help-seeking until problems reached crisis-point was also identified as a concern. Suggested strategies to improve wellbeing included pre-departure education/orientation to life in Australia, the integration of health and wellbeing education with other university programs, education about confidentiality, better supporting students in how to access services, and skill building to promote social connection. Addressing the identified issues and opportunities would support international student health and wellbeing and may assist in attracting international students back to Australia post-COVID. © 2021, Australian and New Zealand Student Services Association. All rights reserved.