Improving Peer Support and Personal Mental Health Skills Through Resilience First Aid (RFA) Training
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Problem under investigation: Suicide rates continue to rise globally despite increased investment in reactive mental health services. This highlights the need for proactive, primary prevention approaches that build psychological resilience and peer support capabilities. This study evaluates the effectiveness of Resilience First Aid (RFA), a neuroscience-informed, strength-based training program.Participants: The study included 769 adult participants (87% Australia, 12% USA) from diverse sectors including education, emergency services, healthcare, and government. Participants completed RFA via either live instructor-led or self-paced online formats, with both voluntary and mandatory engagement.Method: Using a pre-post intervention design, participants completed assessments through Driven’s online platform. Primary outcome measures were the Predictive 6 Factor Resilience Scale (PR6) and the Mental Health Peer Support Questionnaire (MHPSQ). Data was analyzed for overall and domain-specific changes, as well as transitions between resilience risk categories.Findings: RFA training significantly improved resilience (+14.5%) and peer support skills (+7.8%), with industry identified gains in Emergency Services & Safety audiences (+20.3%), Financial Services (+15.6), Community & Social Work (+15.8), and Healthcare (+13.8%). The proportion of high-risk participants (PR6 < 50%) dropped by 77.7%, while those in the high-resilience group (PR6 ≥ 85%) rose by 187.3%. Suicide prevention skill improved by 30.0%. Both delivery formats were effective (p < .001), with no significant difference between mandatory and voluntary groups.Conclusions and implications: RFA is an effective and scalable intervention for strengthening protective mental health factors and suicide prevention capabilities. Its flexible delivery makes it well-suited for workplace wellbeing programs and broader community implementation, contributing meaningfully to public mental health strategies.
