Are you ready to amplify your academic presence and connect with a global network of researchers? Join the Scholar Indexing Society and elevate your research to new heights!
UK and Ireland survey of MPharm student and staff experiences of mental health curricula, with a focus on Mental Health First Aid
Article Number: SIS920835AI160123
16th January, 2023
Author(s):
H. C. Gorton, H. Macfarlane, R. Edwards, S. Farid, E. Garner, M. Mahroof, S. Rasul, D. Keating, H. Zaman, J. Scott, I. Maidment & J. Strawbridge
Abstract:
Background: One in four people experience a mental health problem every year and improving mental health care
is an international priority. In the course of their work, pharmacists frequently encounter people with mental health
problems. The experience of mental health teaching, including Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training, in undergraduate pharmacy (MPharm) students in the UK and Ireland is not well documented. Students’ viewpoints, contextualised
with curricular overviews provided by staf, were analysed to understand their experience.
Methods: An anonymous, online questionnaire was distributed to MPharm students and staf in the UK and Ireland.
Students were asked closed questions regarding their course and exposure to MHFA, which were analysed using
descriptive statistics. Open questions were included to enable explanations and these data were used to contextualise the quantitative fndings. One member of staf from each university was invited to answer a modifed staf version
of the questionnaire, to provide a curriculum overview and staf perspective.
Results: 232 students and 13 staf, from 22 universities, responded. Three-quarters of students did not agree with the
statement that ‘mental health was embedded throughout the MPharm’. Most students (80.6%) stated that they were
taught neuropharmacology whilst 44.8% stated that their course included communicating with people about their
mental health. One-third (33.2%) of students stated that their degree ‘adequately prepared them to help people with
their mental health’. Twenty-six students (11.6%) had completed MHFA training of which 89% would endorse inclusion of this within the MPharm. Of those who had not completed the training, 81% expressed a desire to do so. Those
who completed MHFA training self-reported greater preparedness than those who did not, but student numbers
were small.
Conclusions: Mental health teaching for pharmacy undergraduates is more focussed on theoretical aspects rather
than applied skills. MHFA was viewed by students as one way to enhance skill application. The association of the
increased self-reported preparedness of those who completed MHFA could be confounded by a positive environmental cultural. MPharm programmes need sufcient focus on real-world skills such as communication and crisis
response, to complement the fundamental science.