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Background: Alcohol use disorders have become the second leading cause of death for mental and substance use disorders in China. However, with early diagnosis and timely treatment, the burden can be mitigated. Family and friends of a person with alcohol use problems are well placed to recognize the signs, encourage professional help-seeking and help the person until treatment is received. We aimed to use the Delphi consensus methodology to develop guidelines about how members of the public can provide this "mental health first aid" to someone with problem drinking in China., Methods: A Chinese-language questionnaire was developed, comprising statements that were endorsed for inclusion in the English-language problem drinking first aid guidelines for high-income countries. Participants were also encouraged to suggest new statements. These statements were evaluated by two Chinese expert panels - a professional panel and a lived experience panel - on how important they believed each statement was for members of the public providing mental health first aid to a person with problem drinking in China. Three survey rounds were conducted. To be included in the final guidelines, statements had to receive a "very important" or "important" rating from at least 80% of participants from each of the panels., Results: The majority of statements were rated in the first survey round by 30 mental health professionals and 25 lived experience panel members. One hundred and eighty-one statements met the inclusion criteria and were used to form the guidelines. Compared to the English-language guidelines, the importance of family involvement and mutual support were highlighted by both Chinese expert panels, while a number of statements relating to low-risk drinking were rejected by the lived experience panel., Conclusions: The Chinese-language problem drinking first aid guidelines cover a variety of first aid strategies that members of the public can use when providing initial help to a person with problem drinking, such as how to communicate with the person and what to do if the person is intoxicated. These guidelines will be used as a stand-alone document will also inform the content of Mental Health First Aid training in China.

Background: Suicide is a significant public health concern in China and there is a need for evidence-based suicide prevention programs to assist people in the community who may be in a position to support those in their social networks who are at risk of suicide. English-language mental health first aid guidelines for this purpose have been developed. However, due to differences in culture, language and health systems, guidelines for English-speaking countries require cultural adaptation for use in China., Methods: A Delphi expert consensus study was conducted among mainland Chinese panellists with a diverse range of expertise in suicide crisis intervention (n = 56). Using the mental health first aid guidelines used in English-speaking countries as a basis, a questionnaire containing 141 statements on how to help a person at risk of suicide was developed and translated. Panellists were asked to rate the importance of each item for inclusion in the Chinese guidelines. They were also encouraged to suggest any additional statements that were not included in the original questionnaire. Statements were accepted for inclusion in the adapted guidelines if they were endorsed by at least 80% of panellists as essential or important., Results: Consensus was achieved after two survey rounds on 152 statements for inclusion in the adapted guidelines for China, with 141 adopted from the guidelines for English-speaking countries and 11 generated from the comments of panellists., Conclusions: While the adapted guidelines were similar to the guidelines for English-speaking countries, they also incorporated actions specific to the Chinese context, including Chinese attitudes towards suicide, the role of families and friends and removal of the means of suicide. Further research is needed to investigate the use of the guidelines by the Chinese public and the implementation of Mental Health First Aid training in appropriate settings in China.

Background: Most people who meet the criteria for a diagnosis of depression in China do not receive treatment. Family and friends can play a role in recognising the signs of depression and encouraging the person to seek treatment. However, many of them may lack the knowledge and skills to offer such help. The aim of this study was to culturally adapt the existing English-language mental health first aid (MHFA) guidelines for helping a person with depression to the Chinese context., Methods: A Delphi expert consensus study was conducted, in which two Chinese expert panels of mental health professionals (with experience in the field of clinical management of depression, n = 37) and consumers and carers (with lived experience, n = 30) rated the importance of actions that could be taken to help a person experiencing depression in mainland China., Results: Data were collected over 3 survey rounds. In the 1st round questionnaire, 175 statements translated into Chinese from the English-language guidelines were presented to the expert panels and 12 new statements were generated from panellists' comments. Of these 187 statements, 173 were endorsed for inclusion in the adapted guidelines for China., Conclusions: Although the adapted guidelines were still quite similar to the guidelines for English-speaking countries, they also incorporated some new actions for the Chinese context, including those relating to different ways of respecting the autonomy of a person with depression and the role of their families. Further research is needed to explore the use of these guidelines by the Chinese public, including how they may be incorporated in Mental Health First Aid training.