Mental health first aid guidelines: an evaluation of impact following download from the World Wide Web.

Aim: Mental health first aid guidelines provide the public with consensus-based information about how to assist someone who is developing a mental illness or experiencing a mental health crisis. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the usefulness and impact of the guidelines on web users who download them.

Method: Web users who downloaded the documents were invited to respond to an initial demographic questionnaire, then a follow up about how the documents had been used, their perceived usefulness, whether first-aid situations had been encountered and if these were influenced by the documents.

Young people's mental health first aid intentions and beliefs prospectively predict their actions: findings from an Australian National Survey of Youth.

Little is known about whether mental health first aid knowledge and beliefs of young people actually translate into actual behavior. This study examined whether young people's first aid intentions and beliefs predicted the actions they later took to help a close friend or family member with a mental health problem. Participants in a 2006 national survey of Australian youth (aged 12-25 years) reported on their first aid intentions and beliefs based on one of four vignettes: depression, depression with alcohol misuse, psychosis, and social phobia.

Mental health of Indigenous Australians: a review of findings from community surveys.

Objective: To assemble what is known about the mental health of Indigenous Australians from community surveys.

Data Sources: A systematic search was carried out of publications and data sources since 2000 using PubMed, PsycINFO, Australian Medical Index, the National Library of Australia and datasets known to the authors.

Study Selection: Surveys had to involve representative sampling of a population, identify Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and include a measure of mental health.

Australian youth still have limited awareness of headspace: results from a national survey.

Objectives: The aim of this paper is to assess Australian young people's awareness of mental health services available for their age group. Of particular interest was awareness of headspace, which was created in 2006 to provide youth-oriented mental health services, and has expanded to 30 centres nationally in 5 years.

Method: In 2011, a telephone interview was conducted with a national sample of 3021 Australians aged between 15 and 25 years.

Development of key messages for adolescents on providing basic mental health first aid to peers: a Delphi consensus study.

Aim: Most young people fail to receive professional treatment for mental disorders; however, they do indicate a preference for sharing problems with peers. This article describes key messages about knowledge and actions to form the basis of a basic mental health first aid (MHFA) course for adolescents to increase recognition of and help seeking for mental health problems by teaching the best knowledge and helping actions a young person can undertake to support a peer with a mental health problem.

Methods: The Delphi method was used to achieve consensus among Australian and Canadian youth mental health experts regarding the importance of statements that describe helping actions a young person can take, and information they should have, to support a friend with a mental health problem.

Mental health literacy in higher education students.

Aim: With approximately 50% of young people aged 18-24 in tertiary education, these are potential settings for programmes to improve mental health literacy. A survey was carried out with students and staff of a tertiary education institution to investigate recognition of depression, help-seeking intentions, beliefs about interventions and stigmatizing attitudes.

Methods: Students of an Australian metropolitan university (with staff as a comparison group) participated in a telephone interview.

Oral folic acid and vitamin B-12 supplementation to prevent cognitive decline in community-dwelling older adults with depressive symptoms--the Beyond Ageing Project: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Evidence remains unclear as to whether folic acid (FA) and vitamin B-12 supplementation is effective in reducing depressive symptoms.

Objectives: The objective was to determine whether oral FA + vitamin B-12 supplementation prevented cognitive decline in a cohort of community-dwelling older adults with elevated psychological distress.

Design: A randomized controlled trial (RCT) with a completely crossed 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design comprising daily oral 400 μg FA + 100 μg vitamin B-12 supplementation (compared with placebo), physical activity promotion, and depression literacy with comparator control interventions for reducing depressive symptoms was conducted in 900 adults aged 60-74 y with elevated psychological distress (Kessler Distress 10-Scale; scores >15).

Experiences of treatment decision making for young people diagnosed with depressive disorders: a qualitative study in primary care and specialist mental health settings.

Background: Clinical guidelines advocate for the inclusion of young people experiencing depression as well as their caregivers in making decisions about their treatment. Little is known, however, about the degree to which these groups are involved, and whether they want to be. This study sought to explore the experiences and desires of young people and their caregivers in relation to being involved in treatment decision making for depressive disorders.

Usage and reported helpfulness of self-help strategies by adults with sub-threshold depression.

Background: Informal self-help has the potential to reduce the population burden from sub-threshold forms of depression. Evaluating the effectiveness of self-help is difficult in controlled trials, but can be assessed with direct ratings by consumers. Depression experts have previously rated the likely effectiveness of self-help for sub-threshold depression but it is unclear whether the strategies are helpful in practice.

Intentions and helpfulness beliefs about first aid responses for young people with mental disorders: findings from two Australian national surveys of youth.

Background: Youths are important sources of first aid for people close to them who are experiencing mental health problems, but their skills are not optimal. A better understanding of predictors of young people's first aid intentions and beliefs will facilitate future efforts to improve their mental health first aid skills.

Methods: Young people's first aid intentions and beliefs were assessed by a national telephone survey of 3746 Australian youth aged 12-25 years in 2006.

The population impact of improvements in mental health services: the case of Australia.

A national survey in 1997 found that Australia had a high prevalence of mental disorders with low rates of treatment. Since then, treatment availability has increased greatly and unmet need has reduced. However, there is little evidence that the nation's mental health has improved.

Young people's beliefs about the harmfulness of alcohol, cannabis and tobacco for mental disorders: findings from two Australian national youth surveys.

Aims: Using cross-sectional national survey data, we assessed young peoples' beliefs about the role of alcohol, tobacco and marijuana in the prevention and treatment of mental disorders as well as the predictors of these beliefs. We also compared these findings with those from a similar survey carried out in 2006.

Design, Setting And Participants: Between January and May 2011, a national computer-assisted telephone survey was conducted on a representative sample of Australian youths aged 15-25 years.

Mental health literacy: empowering the community to take action for better mental health.

For major physical diseases, it is widely accepted that members of the public will benefit by knowing what actions they can take for prevention, early intervention, and treatment. However, this type of public knowledge about mental disorders (mental health literacy) has received much less attention. There is evidence from surveys in several countries for deficiencies in (a) the public's knowledge of how to prevent mental disorders, (b) recognition of when a disorder is developing, (c) knowledge of help-seeking options and treatments available, (d) knowledge of effective self-help strategies for milder problems, and (e) first aid skills to support others affected by mental health problems.

Development of guidelines for caregivers of people with bipolar disorder: a Delphi expert consensus study.

Objectives:   Close family and friends are often a primary source of support for a person with bipolar disorder. However, there is a lack of information for caregivers about ways to provide helpful support and take care of themselves. Rates of caregiver burden are high and increase the risk of caregiver depression and health problems.

Young people's beliefs about preventive strategies for mental disorders: findings from two Australian national surveys of youth.

Background: Political interest in prevention of mental illness has increased in recent years. However, relatively little is known about the public's beliefs about prevention, and the predictors of these beliefs. Since many disorders start in the first decades of life, a focus on young people is warranted.

Actions taken to deal with mental health problems in Australian higher education students.

Aims: With approximately 50% of young people aged 18-24 in tertiary education, these are potential settings for programmes to improve mental health literacy. A survey was carried out with students and staff of a tertiary education institution to investigate psychological distress, actions to deal with mental health problems and first-aid behaviours.

Methods: Telephone interviews were carried out with 774 students of an Australian metropolitan university (with 422 staff as a comparison group).

Actions taken by young people to deal with mental disorders: findings from an Australian national survey of youth.

Aims: The study examined actions taken by young people to deal with mental disorders and the factors associated with help-seeking and self-help behaviours.

Methods: Participants in a 2006 national survey of Australian youth (aged 12-25 years) were contacted 2 years later and participated in telephone interviews based on a vignette of one of the following disorders: depression, depression with alcohol misuse, social phobia and psychosis. Personal experiences of these disorders and subsequent self-help and help-seeking behaviours were examined.

National depression and anxiety indices for Australia.

Objective: This study aimed to develop a National Depression Index and a National Anxiety Index to measure the depression and anxiety status of the Australian population, to compare data between surveys, and to compare relative risk in different population groups.

Method: The indices were developed using cross-sectional data from four surveys: the 1997 and 2007 National Surveys of Mental Health and Wellbeing (NSMHWB) and the 2001 and 2004/5 National Health Surveys (NHS). Six items from the K10 that most closely related to the ICD-10 diagnosis of depression and four that most closely related to a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder were used to create separate scales.