Intervention(s)
The intervention consists of a one-hour workshop led by an OBERTAMENT activist (“OBERTAMENT Webpage-Activists”). These activists are people with a mental illness who have received a nine training sessions with a social worker to improve their communication skills and empowerment.
First, the activists briefly describes the OBERTAMENT project and its objectives and students are invited to participate in a dynamic group conversation to estimate and discuss the high prevalence of mental health problems. The key message is: "According to the WHO, one in four people will have a mental health disorder during life”. Next, the activists offer a lecture focused on mental health, mental health problems diagnoses, stigma, discrimination and social exclusion. The OBERTAMENT advertisements that had been used during the 2012 social-marketing campaign are used as a didactical tool. Following this, activists give a first person account of how they coped with mental ill-health and describe how discrimination had affected them throughout their life. Students are invited to ask the activists questions and they are provided with information on family support organizations. Finally, conclusions from students are shared and the activists conclude the workshop with a motivational reflection: “having a positive attitude to people with mental your future professional work".
The control group is a wait list group of students; the only difference between groups is the timing of the contact and education workshop. Students in the control group classes will receive the intervention after the last follow-up evaluation.