Researchers at the Black Dog Institute have developed an Online Mental Health Check to identify anxiety and depression symptoms in Australian primary school children. They would like to invite independent primary schools to be involved in a clinical trial evaluating the impact of the Mental Health Check on mental health stigma.
Through this research, they are aiming to answer the question: Does the mental health check significantly impact stigma for children aged 6 to 12 years and their parents, compared to children who do not complete regular mental health checks and their parents?
What does participation involve?
A school is eligible to participate if they are ‘an independent primary school in Australia’ who has the capacity to provide children with a device (i.e. laptop, desktop, tablet) to complete the assessments. If a school chooses to be involved, they will be asked to:
- Attend an information session (30 mins) with the research team via video-conferencing
- Distribute a link to an information pack with details about the study to parents/carers of children at the school.
The study will use an ‘opt-out’ consent process.
Teachers of participating years 3-6 classes will be asked to allocate approximately 3×15 minute sessions for children to complete the assessment on a school device on commencement, at six weeks and again at twelve weeks.
Your school will be provided with:
- all materials needed to advertise the study to the school
- a report to your school with a grade breakdown of anxiety and depression levels
- an opportunity to sign up to future school mental health studies at Black Dog Institute.
What happens next?
Interest schools can visit the study website A Primary School Mental Health Check - Black Dog Institute to register interest and for more information regarding your school’s eligibility requirements and role in this research project.
The school principal is also invited to attend an online information session with the research team to hear more details about the study.