An evaluation of an Australian initiative designed to improve interdisciplinary collaboration in primary mental health care

Justine Fletcher, Kylie King, Jo Christo, Anna Machlin, Bridget Bassilios, Grant Blashki, Chris Gibbs, Angela Nicholas and Jane Pirkis

Evaluation and Program Planning, 2014, vol. 45, issue C, 29-41

Abstract: This paper reports on a multi-component evaluation of Australia's Mental Health Professionals Network (MHPN). MHPN aims to improve consumer outcomes by fostering a collaborative clinical approach to primary mental health care. MHPN has promoted interdisciplinary communication and networking through activity in three inter-related areas: interdisciplinary workshops supported by education and training materials; fostering ongoing, self-sustained interdisciplinary clinical networks; and a website, web portal (MHPN Online) and a toll-free telephone information line. The evaluation showed that MHPN's workshops were highly successful; almost 1200 workshops were attended by 11,930 individuals from a range of mental health professions. Participants from 81% of these workshops have gone on to join ongoing, interdisciplinary networks of local providers, and MHPN is now supporting these networks in a range of innovative ways to encourage them to become self-sustaining and to improve collaborative care practices.

Keywords: Interdisciplinary network; Mental health; Collaborative care; Primary care (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:epplan:v:45:y:2014:i:c:p:29-41

DOI: 10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2014.03.002

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