Impact of Mental Health Training on Mental Well-being of Lay Counselors in Northern Uganda
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Date
2018
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Jacobs Journal of Community Medicine
Abstract
Data on the impact of mental health first aid training on the mental well-being of lay counselors is limited despite a wealth of research on the training of lay counselors. We tested the hypothesis that mental health first aid training improves the mental well-being of trainees. We trained 60 community representatives selected based on desired qualities in Gulu district using an experiential training method. We assessed pre- and immediate post training mental well-being of trainees with the 32-item Response Inventory for Stressful Events (RISLE) in terms of the prevalence of suicidal ideation using. Just under 78 percent (77.8%) of the trainees were male while 22.2% were female. The age of participants ranged from 22 to 62 years (media = 32). Each of the trainees had received a level education but 57.9% of the trainees were peasant farmers. Pre-test prevalence of suicide ideation was 9.3% while post-test prevalence was 11.1%. However, immediate post-training assessment with the RISLE indicated improved mental well-being. Qualitative assessment after three months indicated that trainees were less suicidal and they had improved psychosocial functioning. Experiential training appears to have improved the mental wellness of trainees.
Description
Keywords
Lay Counselors, Village Helpers, Mental Health First Aid, Experiential Training, Mental Well-Being, Armed Conflict, Northern Uganda