Evaluation of Mental Health First Aid from the Perspective of Workplace End Users (EMPOWER)

Our three-year study, funded by Mental Health First Aid England, is testing out the impact of MHFA England training over the long-term in a range of workplaces across the country Register

LSBU and the Centre for Mental Health are embarking on a ground-breaking study of Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) England training in UK workplaces. Our three-year study, funded by Mental Health First Aid England, is testing out the impact of MHFA England training over the long-term in a range of workplaces across the country.

In normal times, poor mental wellbeing in the workplace has a significant impact both on individual businesses and on the economy as a whole. It is estimated that the business cost of mental ill health at work is almost £35 billion a year nationwide – the equivalent of £1,300 for every person employed in every UK business. There is increasing understanding that employers can reduce some of these costs by taking positive action to improve mental health at work and create supportive, healthier, more productive businesses.

The coronavirus outbreak means that we are having to pause the delivery of training for the time being. We know that every UK business is putting the safety of its staff first and many are having to make difficult adjustments to the challenges we are all facing.

We also know that all of our mental health is being challenged by the current crisis, and many businesses are concerned about the emotional, as well as physical, health of their teams. So, as soon as it is safe, we will be pushing ahead with the programme. We will revisit this in late June.

Our study offers MHFA England training without cost to workplaces that take part. When it is safe to resume, any businesses that have already agreed to join the study will continue to be included. If your organisation hasn’t yet taken up the opportunity, we are keen to hear from you and you can contact us now to register your interest.

We’re looking for organisations of any size, in any industry or sector, to participate in this important study. In return, you will get access to MHFA England training without cost at a time when supporting the mental health of the UK workforce has never been more important.

Find out more or contact Dr Graham Durcan, Ope Atanda or Prof. Patrick Callaghan for further information.

Trial registration

The EMPOWER project is registered on Trial Repository.

  • Prof. Patrick Callaghan
  • Prof. Paula Reavey
  • Dr. Eleni Vangeli
  • Dr. Kerry Wood
  • Prof. Steve Brown (Nottingham Trent University)
  • Dr. Tim Carter (Nottingham University)
  • Dr. Graham Durcan (Centre for Mental Health)
  • Nick O’Shea (Centre for Mental Health)
  • Dr Sarah White
  • Ope Atanda
  • Dr Sarah White (St. George’s University of London)
  • Evaluation of Mental Health First Aid from the Perspective of Workplace End UseRs – EMPOWER: Protocol of cluster randomized trial phase (Submitted for publication)
  • Evaluating mental health first aid: a realist review of published empirical literature (Preparation for Publication)