A randomised controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of the Engaging Men in Crisis Support training program for Crisis Supporters at Lifeline Australia

Not Applicable

Recruiting

• Conditions: Suicide; Mental Health - Suicide

• Registration Number: ACTRN12623000876695
• Lead Sponsor: The University of Melbourne

Brief Summary

Not available

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2023-08-15
• Last Update Posted: 12 August 2024

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: Recruiting
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 3640

Inclusion Criteria

Lifeline centres:
Lifeline’s 4 largest members, comprising 22 individual centres, will be invited to advertise the study to their CSs. Centres must commit to continuing to provide their CSs with their standard support approaches, including reflexive practice sessions and debriefing with their in-shift supervisor, in the unlikely event that there is distress due to participating in the research study.

Callers:
•Provide opt-in consent to the post-call survey by staying on the line after interaction with CS ends.
While the focus of the trial is on male caller outcomes, data from callers of all genders will be collected. This data will be used to compare the effectiveness of the EMICS intervention between gender groups.

Crisis Supporters:
•Completes paid shifts at a participating Lifeline centre, and normally completes a minimum of 1 four hour shift per fortnight.
•Is able to partake in online study elements including completion of training module and study assessments.
•Phase 2 only: Has completed assigned Phase 1 training module.

Exclusion Criteria

Callers:
•The CS has followed the Decision Support Tool protocols to the SUPPORT stage and deems that the help seeker's (HS) safety is still at immediate risk/experiencing a high level of distress at the end of the call.
•Deemed as ‘unwelcome’ calls by CSs (i.e., inappropriate or abusive). These calls will be ended prior to being transferred to the post-call survey in line with Lifeline policy.

Crisis Supporters:
•Previous completion of Men in Mind training program (Seidler, Wilson, Owen, et al., 2021) or the Male-Friendly Counselling: Enhancing Therapy Work with Men professional development training (Flyer available at https://psychology.org.au/aps/media/events/attachments/21160/male-friendly-counselling-2020_1.pdf).
•Previous participation in qualitative interview or focus group regarding experiences of supporting male callers at Lifeline conducted by The University of Melbourne (conducted in May-April 2022).
•Prior exposure to or completion of the Engaging Men in Crisis Support training program.

Study & Design

• Study Type: Interventional
• Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Post-call male caller ratings of distress. This item was chosen because it was the most highly rated outcome in a recent three-panel Delphi study on key outcomes in crisis support (pre-print available at https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/x3guz). Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale of (1) strongly disagree to (5) strongly agree. Callers can also select (0) for non-applicable. Callers can enter their response using the number key on their telephone/cellular device.<br>[ Completed by callers immediately after their call with a Lifeline Crisis Supporter. This outcome will be collected from callers who interact with participating Crisis Supporters from Phase 2 start (i.e., once CSs have completed their assigned training module) until target sample number of callers reached (estimated to be 12-18 months after Phase 2 start)]