Providing mental health first aid in the workplace: A Delphi consensus study

Abstract

Background: Mental health problems are common in the workplace, but workers affected by such problems are not always well supported by managers and co-workers. Guidelines exist for the public on how to provide mental health first aid, but not specifically on how to tailor one's approach if the person of concern is a co-worker or employee. A Delphi consensus study was carried out to develop guidelines on additional considerations required when offering mental health first aid in a workplace context. Methods: A systematic search of websites, books and journal articles was conducted to develop a questionnaire with 246 items containing actions that someone may use to offer mental health first ai..