The MH-SPACE Trial
Creating Mental Health Safe Spaces in Pharmacy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Consumers through Education
Funding
This RCT is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health as part of the Medical Research Future Fund for Indigenous Health Research.
Upskilling community pharmacists to provide better mental health support for First Nations peoples
Creating Mental Health Safe Spaces in Pharmacy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Consumers: Educating the primary care workforce in Mental Health First Aid
Mental illness is a major contributor to disease burden for First Nations Australians. The Australian National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Strategy recommends “embedding of preventive activity in primary healthcare”. ‘Bringing mental health services into the community’ and establishing ‘services with cultural awareness training and skill development’ can reduce stigma, mistrust and fear associated with help-seeking among Indigenous peoples. Our nation’s frontline healthcare professionals can do more to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Pharmacists are trusted members of the community. Yet, they may lack sufficient culturally appropriate education on First Nations health and wellbeing, which can impede health equity for First Nations peoples.
What is MH-SPACE?
The MH-SPACE Trial has been funded by the Australian Government’s Medical Research Future Fund (Indigenous Health Research Scheme).
The aim of MH-SPACE is to establish Mental Health Safe spaces in community Pharmacies, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Consumers through Education.
Primary objectives are to:
- Co-design a training package, comprising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health First Aid training, cultural safety and awareness training and behavioural assessment.
- Evaluate the impact of MH-SPACE training on pharmacists’ ability to provide mental health support, first aid and referral through simulated patient visits; and;
- Demonstrate the impact of MH-SPACE on pharmacists’ provision of mental health support, first aid and referral in routine practice.
Meet the Team
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Explain what it offers
Evaluation
The MH-SPACE training package will be co-designed, and content validated, by First Nations researchers and stakeholders. The effectiveness of the training program intervention will be evaluated in a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT). Simulated patient site visits (mystery shopping) by First Nations actors will be conducted for behavioural assessment. This will occur both in-class training and in real-world primary healthcare settings (community pharmacies). Initial research focus areas include western New South Wales, northern Western Australia (Kimberley and Pilbara regions) and the Northern Territory.
The primary outcome measure is the proportion of standardized patients who receive appropriate mental health support and first aid from pharmacists during site visits, as measured on a psychometrically tested rubric. The RE-AIM framework and COM-B model will guide qualitative exploration of barriers and facilitators to practice change.
It is envisaged that MH-SPACE findings and outputs may reform education of the health workforce with an aim to improve primary mental healthcare for First Nations people.
Published research findings & progress reports
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