Needs assessment and impact of mental health training among doctor of pharmacy students.

Introduction: Mental illness is extremely prevalent, yet many pharmacy students get little exposure to mental health training. The majority of studies assessing mental health training and Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) are focused on undergraduate programs. This study critically evaluated the impact of MHFA on pharmacy students' knowledge, confidence, and perceptions as they pertain to mental health, as well as the appropriateness of MHFA as a training course for pharmacy students.

Methods: There were two parts to this study: (1) a pre-/post-survey that assessed the impact of MHFA on pharmacy students as well as the appropriateness of MHFA for students at this level of education and training and (2) a college-wide survey that assessed the impact of mental health training of any type on confidence in mental health-related skills and the perceived usefulness of mental health training for pharmacy students.

Results: Participants of the MHFA portion of the study demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in knowledge of mental health-related topics and confidence to interact with someone experiencing mental illness (P < .05) after completing the MHFA course. Perceptions of mental illness did not improve significantly following a single training. The college-wide survey (N = 275) revealed a significantly higher confidence level among students who had previously completed any mental health training program compared to those who had not (P < .05).

Conclusions: MHFA training significantly increased students' knowledge and confidence in approaching and interacting with persons experiencing mental illness.