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NCT Number: NCT07666542

Psychosocial Support Program for Public School Teachers

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if different formats of a school-based psychosocial support training program can improve teachers' ability to recognize and respond to students' mental health needs. The study will include teachers working in public schools in Brazil.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. Do teachers who receive the training improve their knowledge on how to better to identify and support students with mental health difficulties? 2. Do different formats of training (in-person, online, or self-paced) and the presence of supervision lead to different levels of improvement in this knowledge, in attitudes related to mental health, and helping behaviors?

Researchers will compare five versions of the program (in-person, online, and asynchronous formats, with or without supervision) to see which approach is more effective, acceptable, and feasible.

Participants will:

1. Take part in a training program delivered either in-person, online, or through self-paced materials; 2. In some groups, attend additional supervision sessions to discuss real-life cases; 3. Receive brief follow-up materials through mobile messages after the training 4. Complete online questionnaires at multiple time points (before the training, during the program, after completion, and at follow-up).

The study will measure changes in teachers' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to supporting students' mental health, as well as satisfaction with the program and its feasibility for large-scale implementation.

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Key information

Conditions

Mental Health Literacy School Mental Health Training of Teachers

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

School-level inclusion criteria:

  • Public schools from the state education system of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, serving students in "Ensino Fundamental" and "Ensino Médio" (equivalent to grades 1-12), and belonging to "Polo 1", an administrative grouping defined by the Rio Grande do Sul State Department of Education that includes the following Regional Education Coordinators (Coordenadorias Regionais de Educação [CREs]): 1st, 2nd, 11th, 12th, 27th, and 28th CREs;
  • Schools with 10 or more teachers on staff;
  • Schools with a complete school management team, defined as having all three core management roles in place.

Participant-level inclusion criteria (teacher level)

Participating teachers must meet all of the following criteria:

  • Teachers currently working in participating public schools;
  • Able and willing to participate in all stages of the intervention and scheduled assessments;
  • Provide informed consent prior to participation

Exclusion criteria

School-level exclusion criteria:

  • Schools with fewer than 10 teachers on staff;
  • Schools without a complete school management team;
  • Youth and Adult Education Centers (Núcleos de Educação de Jovens e Adultos [EJA]);
  • Schools that began operating as full-time schools in 2026;
  • Schools not belonging to Polo 1 of the state education system of Rio Grande do Sul;
  • Schools that do not serve students in grades 1-12

Participant-level exclusion criteria

  • Not currently working as a teacher in a participating public school;
  • Unable to participate in the training in the planned date for the specific school the teacher works at;
  • Decline or are unable to provide informed consent

Treatment and study plan

In-person School-Based Psychosocial Support Training

Behavioral

A structured training program designed to improve teachers' ability to recognize and respond to students' mental health needs. The intervention includes evidence-based content on mental health literacy, identification of emotional and behavioral difficulties, and appropriate support and referral strategies. The training is delivered in-person in two weekly sessions.

Online School-Based Psychosocial Support Training

Behavioral

A structured training program designed to improve teachers' ability to recognize and respond to students' mental health needs. The intervention includes evidence-based content on mental health literacy, identification of emotional and behavioral difficulties, and appropriate support and referral strategies. The training is delivered trough synchronous videoconference in two weekly sessions.

Asynchronous School-Based Psychosocial Support Training

Behavioral

A structured training program designed to improve teachers' ability to recognize and respond to students' mental health needs. The intervention includes evidence-based content on mental health literacy, identification of emotional and behavioral difficulties, and appropriate support and referral strategies. The training is delivered through an asynchronous self-paced course in a digital platform.

Supervision Sessions

Behavioral

Structured small-group supervision sessions conducted via audio calls, focused on discussion of real-life cases, clarification of concepts, and support for practical application of the training content.

Mobile-Based Reinforcement Materials

Behavioral

Brief follow-up materials delivered via mobile messaging to reinforce key concepts covered in the training sessions.

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in the score in the Mental health Knowledge & Attitudes Questionnaire

    Time frame: Baseline (T0) to post-intervention at 4 weeks (T2)

    Psychosocial support skills knowledge and attitudes will be assessed using a multiple choice instrument (Mental health Knowledge & Attitudes Questionnaire) developed for this study and previously piloted in a sample of teachers. Scores will range from 0 to 100%, reflecting the percentage of correct responses.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Early and Sustained change in the score in the Mental health Knowledge & Attitudes Questionnaire

    Time frame: Baseline (T0) to 2 weeks (T1); Baseline (T0) to 2-month follow-up (T3)

    Same instrument used in the primary outcome

  2. Change in psychosocial support skills score (clinical vignette-based score)

    Time frame: Baseline (T0) to 2 weeks (T1); Baseline (T0) to post-intervention at 4 weeks (T2); Baseline (T0) to 2-month follow-up (T3)

    Psychosocial support skills will be assessed using a vignette-based instrument (Psychosocial Support Skills Instrument) developed for this study and previously piloted in a sample of teachers. Each vignette describes a brief clinical scenario, and participants are asked to select the most appropriate level of support for the student. Response options include: (1) Observe and be available; (2) Provide school-based support and accommodations ; (3) Link to a mental health professional ; (4) Act immediately due to safety concerns. Scores will range from 0 to 100%, reflecting the percentage of correct responses.

  3. Changes in helping behaviors toward students

    Time frame: Baseline (T0) to 2 weeks (T1); Baseline (T0) to post-intervention at 4 weeks (T2); Baseline (T0) to 2-month follow-up (T3)

    Assessed using a retrospective self-report scale developed to capture mental health-related helping behaviors toward students ("Helping Behaviors Scale"), including identifying emotional distress, providing support, and facilitating referral to appropriate services. The scale includes five items describing specific helping behaviors. Each item is rated as yes, no, or does not apply. Higher endorsement indicates a greater number of supportive actions taken by the respondent in the past week.

  4. Change in the levels of teacher burnout

    Time frame: Baseline (T0); 2 weeks (T1); Post-intervention at 4 weeks (T2); 2-month follow-up (T3)

    Teacher burnout will be assessed using the 12-item version of the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT-12), a self-report questionnaire developed to assess burnout as a multidimensional psychological syndrome. It evaluates four core dimensions of burnout: exhaustion, mental distance, cognitive impairment, and emotional impairment. Each item is rated on a five-point frequency scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always). A total burnout score will be calculated as the mean of the 12 items, with higher scores indicating greater burnout symptoms.

  5. Training acceptability, satisfaction, and perceived confidence

    Time frame: Post-intervention at 4 weeks (T2)

    Assessed using a post-training self-report questionnaire developed for this study. The questionnaire includes one item assessing perceived adequacy of training length, rated as too short, about right, or too long. Three items assess participants' ratings of the training delivery format, amount of practice, and resources/materials provided, each rated on a five-point scale ranging from very poor to excellent. One additional item assesses participants' confidence in their ability to identify students with psychosocial and mental health difficulties, rated from not at all confident to extremely confident. Higher ratings indicate greater satisfaction with the training components and greater perceived confidence. An optional open-ended item collects additional qualitative feedback about the training.

  6. Cost-effectiveness of the intervention

    Time frame: Baseline (T0) to post-intervention at 4 weeks (T2)

    Cost-effectiveness will be calculated as the cost per improvement unit in the Mental health Knowledge & Attitudes Questionnaire described previously

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Giovanni A. Salum, MD, PhD

CONTACT

gsalum @hcpa.edu.br

(+55) 51 3359 8094

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre

Other

Collaborators

  • Child Mind Institute
  • Secretaria da Educação do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (SEDUC-RS)

Registry information

Official study title

Evaluation of the Effectiveness and Feasibility of Different Formats of a School-Based Psychosocial Support Program for Public School Teachers: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Acronym: PSP

Important dates

Study start
2026
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2026
First posted
Jun 24, 2026
Registry last updated
Jun 24, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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