Dr Shurong Lu is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Mental Health within The University of Melbourne. Shurong has strong research interests in the development, evaluation and dissemination of evidence-based early intervention approaches, such as Mental Health First Aid training programs.

She is passionate about creating a world where everyone, particularly children, adolescents, and those with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, can receive timely and appreciate support when facing with any mental health challenges.

Mental Health First Aid for Supporting Children is a new training program that is designed to help adults better understand children’s mental health and equip them with the skills to provide initial support to children with mental health problems.

This project aims to evaluate the cultural acceptability and effectiveness of the Mental Health First Aid for Supporting Children program among culturally and linguistically diverse parents of 5–12-year-old children.

The project will be conducted in three phases:

• Phase 1 will involve validation of two new measures on adults’ mental health literacy and first aid skills in supporting children.
• Phase 2 will involve quantitative evaluations on whether the program leads to better knowledge, recognition and first aid skills in supporting multicultural children with mental health problems.
• Phase 3 will involve qualitative assessment of the program’s adaptation requirements to better meet the needs of culturally diverse families.