Using Data to Guide Our Mission

We don’t talk about our research nearly enough, even though it’s at the heart of so much of what we do. That’s why we’re extra excited to share this update from our Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Research Team!

Dr. Cixin Wang, Xiaohong Gao, Jie Chen, Emmanuel Amoako and Lily Chen are in the final stage of data analysis for a 3-year randomized controlled pilot study evaluating the MHFA) Chinese curriculum compared with the English curriculum. We are currently finalizing how best to report outcomes across four time points (pre-training, post-training, 3 months, and 6 months), including whether to model growth curves over time in addition to traditional statistical comparisons. In other words: we are making sure the science is as strong and meaningful as possible!

We hope to submit for publication within a week after 3 years of hard work, but this study has already changed what we do. When we saw a dip in MHFA knowledge between immediate post-training and 6-month follow-up, we used that evidence to launch MHFA peer support groups to help sustain learning and real-world application. That’s research doing what it’s meant to do: shaping better care.

Want to learn more about our research? Click on the button below.