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The program evaluation of ' Go‐To Educator Training' on educators' knowledge about and stigma toward mental illness in six Canadian provinces
Author(s) -
Wei Yifeng,
Kutcher Stan,
Baxter Andrew,
Heffernan Amy
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
early intervention in psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.087
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1751-7893
pISSN - 1751-7885
DOI - 10.1111/eip.13037
Subject(s) - stigma (botany) , mental health literacy , mental health , mental illness , medicine , nova scotia , psychology , psychiatry , clinical psychology , family medicine , geography , archaeology
Aim Schools are well positioned to promote mental health literacy and assist in the early identification of students who may have a mental disorder. However, many educators are unprepared to effectively address these issues. Enhancing this capacity may improve mental health outcomes for students. This report describes the application of a gatekeeper‐type program, the 'Go‐To Educator Training' (GTET), targeting educators whom students naturally gravitate toward for support, designed to improve educators' mental health knowledge and early identification skills and decrease stigma. Methods GTET was conducted in six Canadian provinces (Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Alberta and Manitoba) (2012‐2015), with 949 secondary school educators involved. Pre‐ and postintervention mental health knowledge and stigma surveys were completed. Paired t ‐tests assessed change in knowledge and stigma. ANCOVA compared knowledge and stigma change across subgroups. Correlation measured the relationship between knowledge and stigma. Results Knowledge significantly improved ( t [919] = 58.40, P < .001, d = 2.12) and stigma significantly decreased ( t [872] = 4.52, P < .001, d = 0.14). Similar results were identified within each province/region. Knowledge and stigma were correlated before (N = 922, r = .18, P < .01) and after the training (N = 888, r = .22, P < . 01). Conclusions These results suggest GTET may be an effective school‐based mental health related intervention. Further study is needed to measure its long‐term impact and its role in addressing youth mental health care referrals.