@article{ref1,
title="Can an online mental health training programme improve physician supervisors' behaviour towards trainees?",
journal="Internal medicine journal",
year="2021",
author="Gayed, Aimée and Kugenthiran, Nathasha and Lamontagne, Anthony D. and Christensen, Helen and Glozier, Nick and Harvey, Samuel B.",
volume="51",
number="9",
pages="1441-1449",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Physician trainees have elevated rates of psychological distress, mental disorders and suicide. Physician supervisors can support the mental health needs of trainees. AIMS: To test the feasibility and acceptability of a tailored online mental health training programme and to ascertain the potential effectiveness of the programme to alter the confidence and behaviours of physician supervisors. METHODS: Thirty Australian hospital-based physicians who were supervising physician trainees participated in this quasi-experimental pre-post pilot study. All received the intervention that comprised 12 5-min modules to complete over a 3-week period. Baseline and post-intervention data were collected. The primary outcome evaluated participants' confidence to respond to trainees experiencing mental ill-health and promote a mentally healthy workplace. Secondary outcomes evaluated change in self-reported behaviour, mental health knowledge and stigmatising attitudes. Differences in mean scale scores for each outcome measure from baseline and post-intervention were compared using paired sample t-tests. RESULTS: Thirty physicians completed the baseline assessment and 23 (76.7%) completed all programme modules. Most participants found the programme engaging, interesting and useful. Post-intervention data, available for 25 (83.3%) participants, showed a significant increase in participants' knowledge of their role in supporting trainees under their supervision (P = 0.002), confidence to initiate conversations about mental health with staff (P < 0.001), and application of preventive and responsive supervisory behaviours to support the mental health needs of those they supervise (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This online mental health training programme for physician supervisors was feasible and associated with improved confidence and behaviour to support the mental health needs of trainees they supervised.<p /><p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1444-0903",
doi="10.1111/imj.15207",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/imj.15207"
}