An efficacy trial of a brief group based, single session intervention delivered through Australian community sport clubs to reduce mental illness stigma and increase help-seeking intention

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Australian NRL’s State of Mind programme was evaluated; specifically, a 1.5-hour intervention for increasing knowledge of mental illness, reducing attitudinal components of mental illness stigma and increasing help-seeking propensity in a sample drawn from amateur rugby league clubs in Queensland. The National Rugby League (NRL) is the pre-eminent rugby league club competition in Australia and New Zealand. Participants, 16 years of age and older, completed a pre- and post-intervention survey capturing four mental illness knowledge measures, four attitudinal measures of stigma and one measure of help-seeking propensity. Results demonstrated that 1.5 weeks after intervention, the 1.5-hour targeted intervention associated with significant meaningful improvements in mental health knowledge, attitudinal components of mental illness stigma and help-seeking intention.