Attitudes towards mental health and help-seeking in railway workers

Background: TRiM (Trauma Risk Management) has been shown to improve mental health and attitudes towards mental health in high-risk occupational groups; however, there has been no research into how TRiM might work for railway workers. Aims: To assess whether attending a TRiM training course alters mental health and attitudes to mental health-related help-seeking in railway workers.Methods: Workers completed a survey assessing mental health and attitudes towards mental health and help-seeking, before and after a 2-day TRiM course; follow-up questionnaires were administered 4 months post-course. Results: Fifty railway employees completed the questionnaires. Post-course scores for cohesion and mental health peer literacy (i.e. feeling able to recognize and discuss mental health symptoms with colleagues) and some aspects of stigma significantly improved, while there were non-significant improvements in common mental disorder and post-traumatic stress symptoms. The response rate for completing follow-up surveys was small (n = 8) but results from these subjects suggested mental health peer literacy scores remained significantly improved. Conclusions: This study provides a useful insight into attitudes of railway workers regarding stigma and their confidence in discussing trauma-related mental health. Significant improvements in cohesion and mental health peer literacy along with the general improvement in scores post-TRiM course provide some evidence of the potential benefits of TRiM training in railway workers. Follow-up results have limited reliability due to the small number of responders but suggest possible long-term benefits of attending a TRiM course. Further research is required to confirm this finding.