Benefits of Training Volunteers in Mental Health Promotion Within Organisations Employing People with Disabilities: Preliminary Results

Background: Psychosocial factors present in various work environments can pose a risk to workers’ health, but those with some form of disability may be more vulnerable and more severely affected by these issues. Objective: The goal of this study is to assess whether training employees to act as health promoters, as well as providing them with follow-up support, can help to improve health outcomes among other workers and serve as a link between them and healthcare professionals. Method: Initially, 148 employees were recruited from five centres belonging to the same company, in which the majority of staff had some form of disability or were at risk of social exclusion. Three centres were randomly assigned to the intervention group and two centres formed the control group (waiting list). Measurements were taken at three time points (baseline, at six months and at twelve months). Initially, 82 people participated from the intervention group, and at the two subsequent time points, 69 and 55 respectively. From the control group, 49 employees participated in the baseline assessment and, at the two subsequent time points, 37 and 32 respectively. The following instruments were used: (1) a demographic and employment data form; (2) the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12); (3) the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI General Questionnaire); and (4) five items from the Columbia Scale for the Assessment of Suicidal Severity. Results: The intervention group showed improvements in all variables over time and also in comparison with the control group. These improvements were statistically significant in terms of general health and in the dimensions of cynicism and professional efficacy. Conclusions: The establishment of mental health promotion teams within organisations can help to improve key aspects of employees’ psychological wellbeing, which encourages further research in this field to investigate the effectiveness of structured and sustainable interventions.