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

【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.