October 21, 2013

Drexel University School of Public Health Associate Professor Rabbi Nancy E. Epstein is serving as Principal Investigator for an evaluation of Philadelphia's Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training. MHFA is a prevention and early intervention-focused training program for the general public that is being rolled out by the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disaAbility Services (DBHIDS) to approximately 10,000 Philadelphians in the next two years. Spearheaded by DBHIDS's commissioner, Dr. Arthur C. Evans, and developed in Australia, MHFA is a public health-oriented behavioral health initiative dedicated to promoting the mayor's goals for a Healthy Philadelphia. It has also been selected by President Obama to be included in his recent national initiative AWARE: Advancing Awareness and Resilience through Education that was launched following the tragic shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Many cities and states across the United States are currently in the process of implementing MHFA.

Mental illness accounts for 15% of the total economic burden of all disease in the United States, and Philadelphia has one of the largest behavioral health systems in the country. MHFA trainings, which are low cost and potentially high impact, are being offered regularly across the City of Philadelphia in cooperation with key institutional partners, such as the Red Cross and the Philadelphia school district. The Philadelphia MHFA evaluation focuses primarily on First Aiders’ improved individual ability to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental illness, improved confidence levels in taking action, decreases in stigma and how First Aiders are applying what they learned in community, neighborhood, workplace and congregational settings.