The MH-SPACE Trial

Upskilling community pharmacists to provide better mental health support for First Nations peoples

The MH-SPACE project focuses on providing the frontline pharmacy workforce with the opportunity to complete training, upskill, reflect and practice behaviours relating to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of First Nations people in a culturally safe and responsive manner.  

The MH-SPACE project is guided by The National Scheme’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Cultural Safety Strategy 2020-2025 by AHPRA and National Boards.

Including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives into the teaching of pharmacists will help towards correcting pharmacy practitioners potentially held improper knowledge, beliefs, and stigmas about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, their use of pharmacy services, and their mental health. In doing so, pharmacists’ journey towards cultural humility and safety for their clients can continue in a meaningful way.  

What is MH-SPACE?

The overall aim of MH-SPACE is to educate the pharmacy workforce to better support the mental health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in a culturally safe and responsive manner using education and assessment materials developed with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Primary objectives are to:

1. Co-design a training package, comprising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health First Aid training, cultural safety and awareness training and behavioural assessment.
2. Evaluate the impact of MH-SPACE training on pharmacists’ ability to provide mental health support, first aid and referral through simulated patient visits; and;
3. Demonstrate the impact of MH-SPACE on pharmacists’ provision of mental health support, first aid and referral in routine practice.

Funding

The MH-SPACE project is supported by funding from the Australian Government under the Medical Research Future Fund.