Summary of Evaluation of Mental Health First Aid Training on Groote Eylandt and Bickerton Island

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health First Aid (AMHFA) course was delivered to 255 Groote Eylandt and Bickerton Islander community members between December 2016 and May 2017. The AMHFA course teaches participants to recognise the signs of mental health issues and how to implement the mental health first aid action plan. An evaluation of the initiative was conducted in two parts:

• A desktop analysis of survey and program administrative data undertaken by the NIAA provided lessons learned about project delivery and examined whether the training had increased mental health first aid skills among participants.
• A participatory study conducted by independent Indigenous evaluators assessed the effectiveness, relevance, appropriateness, impact and sustainability of the training.