Kent State researchers, Ph.D. Candidate Jessica Song, Dr. Deric Kenne, and Dr. Kim Laurene have published their work titled "Referrals to Mental Health Services in Ohio: An Exploration of Time to First Referral After Completion of Mental Health First Aid Gatekeeper Training" in the Ohio Journal of Public Health.
The research examines the impact of Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), a training course designed to teach people how to connect individuals in need of professional services to the appropriate resources, on the time to first referral. Results indicated the following
"After completing MHFA, the average time until first referral was approximately 3 months. Several participant characteristics were significantly associated with referral to mental health services. African American and Black participants who completed the training were more likely to make a referral as compared to White participants. Extraversion was associated with increased likelihood of making a referral, while emotional stability was associated with a decreased likelihood of making a referral."
Additionally, the findings suggest a need for a "booster course" to emphasize the continued importance of referrals to appropriate resources as participants were found to be "5.7% less likely to first report referring with each passing month, following the MHFA training."
The entire article can be found at https://ojph.org/article/view/8478.