141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

290479
Assessing the impact of competency-based training program for health volunteers on mental health

Monday, November 4, 2013 : 12:30 PM - 12:50 PM

Harumi Katayama, RN, PhD , Department of Nursing, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan
Takeshi Suzue, MD, PhD , Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University, Kita-gun, Japan
Michiyo Okada, PhD , Kanonnji Daichi Senior High School, Kagawa, Japan
Ai Fujikawa, MD, PhD , Takamatsu City Public Health Center, Kagawa, Japan
Yoshimi Tsuji, PHN, RN, PhD , Department of Nursing, Kagawa Prefectural College of Health Sciences, Kagawa, Japan
Nobuyuki Miyatake, MD, PhD , Department of Hygiene, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University, Kita-gun, Japan
Noriko Sakano, PHN, RN, PhD , Department of Hygiene, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University, Kita-gun, Japan
Takeshi Yoda, MD, PhD , Department of Public Health, Kagawa University, Kagawa, Japan
Akira Yoshioka, PhD , Department of Public Health, Kagawa University, Kagawa, Japan
Taichi Nagatomi , Institute of Research Partnership Center for Social Collaboration and Intellectual Property, Kagawa University, Kagawa, Japan
Wataru Shiraki , Department of Reliability-based Information Systems Engineering, Kagawa University, Kagawa, Japan
Tomohiro Hirao, MD, PhD , Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University, Kita-gun, Japan
【Purpose】 In Japan, suicides are increasing under long-term economic recession. We developed the competency-based training program for health volunteers on mental health to prevent suicide and evaluated the impact of the training program. 【Methods】 The curriculum was developed with the competency-based model. Competencies of six domains, “initiative”, “interpersonal understanding”, “impact and power”, “building human relationships”, “teamwork and cooperativeness” and “leadership”, were employed in the curriculum. Each domain consisted of several sub-domains and 14 sub-domains were employed in the program. Competencies were evaluated with six levels (from low to high) according to the performance. The training programs were conducted for 78 community leaders in Takamatsu, Japan from September to December 2011. The program consisted of six two-hour sessions, a total of 12 hours. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to evaluate the changes of competency scores before and after the training programs. 【Results】 The data of 39 participants (10 males, 29 females) who completely filled the questionnaire and participated throughout the programs were analyzed. The participants' average age was 61.5 ±13.3. All competency scores were significantly increased after the training programs (p<0.001). The competency scores were particularly increased among the following 4 conditions; “female”, “health profession”, “local welfare commissioner or community health council member” and “community director”. 【Discussion】 The training programs were considered effective for a short term. We plan to evaluate the long-term impact of the training program.

Learning Areas:
Occupational health and safety

Learning Objectives:
Assess the impact of training program for health volunteers on mental health to prevent suicide.

Keywords: Community Health Programs, Mental Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a main author of this paper.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.