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Connecting People Newsletter July 2013
Welcome to Issue 4 of the
IN THIS ISSUE… Study next steps
Connecting People
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Newsletter… Highlights this month include breaking news on the International Centre for Mental Health Social Research (ICMHSR) and a closer look at one of our participating agencies: n-compass North West Ltd.
Our main news this month regards the completion of the recruitment and baseline interview stages of the study…
Agency Engagement. Dates for your calendar
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In April we completed the recruitment and baseline interviews for the study. We are pleased to announce that we completed more than 140 baseline interviews across the three subgroups: adults and older adults with mental health problems or learning disabilities. This would not have been possible without the support of all of the workers at the agencies so a big thank you to everyone for their support! So what is next for the Connecting People Study? Read on to find out what is coming up for the team. The Connecting People Study Team
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Agency in Focus: n-compass
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Next Steps in the Study… Follow-up Interviews We have recently begun nine-month follow-up interviews with participants. The second interview includes a qualitative section so as to capture the experience of individuals in the intervention. Meredith and Sharon co-facilitated the first two follow-up interviews and remarked how nice it is to meet participants a second time and hear about the positive changes in their lives since first starting with the agency. Quote from a participant about her experience with the intervention: “Since I started there (agency) I’ve actually met new people and got a lot of confidence in getting to know new people…I have a lot of friends at the agency and I don’t want to lose contact with them now that I’m not going to be in the project so we’ve been getting together and socialising.”
Interviews with workers at agencies
In addition to interviewing the individuals again to capture any changes during their time in the Connecting People Intervention (CPI), we will also be conducting semi-structured interviews with managers and workers in each agency. Through these interviews we aim to evaluate the process and experience of working within the CPI both from the worker and agency perspectives. Meredith and Sharon will be contacting agencies to arrange these interviews from July to September. Sample interview questions: To what extent has your agency supported the implementation of the Connecting People Intervention? In what ways, if any, has your team adapted to it? If the intervention was rolled out to other agencies, what advice would you give them? To what extent do you think the intervention has helped the people you are working with? How would you define its outcomes? We hope that we can arrange and complete a good amount of interviews with an array of workers from each agency, and once again call for your help in this process.
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Recognising the Local Research Support… Throughout the study we have been fortunate to collaborate with local research offices at several NHS sites: Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, Somerset, South West Yorkshire and Lancashire Care. Clinical studies officers (CSO’s) work on the National Mental Health Research Network (MHRN) projects at a local level to ensure facilitation and open access to research. A CSO’s role includes research promotion amongst clinicians and service users, assisting research teams by identifying eligible participants to take part in research, and maintaining close links with clinical services and departments. Quote from Barbara Keogh, CSO at Lincolnshire CMHS: “What I am doing is promoting amongst the social workers in the trust and encouraging them to refer people to the study. We can then train them and they can participate. What I'm finding is that, similar to what you've probably heard from other people, is that it is reenergizing the social workers. Going around the Trust, and we've got a rural area, a lot of the social workers have been heavily impacted by the changes going on. We're a section 75 Trust, and because of budgetary cuts their work has been very, very defined in terms of - that's health care, that's social care - never the twain shall meet." We greatly appreciate their contribution during the study and want to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU to Barbara Keogh of Lincolnshire CMHS, Gemma Elliott and Caroline Cheetham of Derby City CMHS, Frances Rockhill and Trudy Sheen of Somerset Partnership NHS Trust, Polly Bidwell of Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust, and Ismail Patel of South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. Their support was invaluable as they successfully recruited a combined total of more than 50 individuals to the study. We have observed that CSO’s offer a local face-to-face contact with workers and service users, an asset to the success of multi-site research projects.
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Introducing the International Centre for Mental Health Social Research (ICMHSR)… The Centre for Mental Health Social Research at the University of York led by Martin (colead investigator of the Connecting People study) is to become an international research centre, thanks to a successful bid to the University of York Vice-Chancellor's Initiative Fund. The International Centre for Mental Health Social Research (ICMHSR) will receive support over the next three years to become a self-sustaining international research centre. The ICMHSR will bring together researchers from the University of Melbourne (Australia), City University New York (USA), Roskilde University (Denmark), Public Health Foundation of India (India), University of Chicago (USA) and the University of York. The collaboration will explore the role of social problems in the cause and course of mental health problems and will develop and evaluate innovative ways of tackling them. This will include validating research tools for use in different cultures, supporting local practice-based research, and evaluating approaches such as working with social networks and communities. ICMHSR researchers will share knowledge across boundaries with the potential for global impact. Professor Mary Maynard, Head of the Department of Social Policy and Social Work, said: “We are delighted that financial support from the Vice-Chancellor’s Fund for Collaborative International Research Centres will enable the new Centre for Mental Health Social Research to be a truly international endeavour. The Department is committed both to expanding its current work on mental health research and to international and comparative perspectives.” The ICMHSR will host free public seminars every two months, which will increasingly feature its international collaborators. Its next seminar is on Friday 12th July from 1-2pm and will feature Dr Lisa Brophy from University of Melbourne / MIND Australia who will be talking about supporting people on Community Treatment Orders. This is sure to be an interesting seminar and if you are interested in coming then more information can be found here. To find out more about its work, please contact the Centre Coordinator, Tracey Hawkes, or visit its website. 4|P a g e
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Agency Engagement Events… SAVE THE DATE! The Connecting People Study research team is organising three events for participating agencies in September 2013. Reflecting on feedback we have received from agencies participating in the study that workers would like more opportunities to meet and learn from other agencies, in addition to the success of our London event in February this year, we are organising these events to: show our appreciation for participating agencies’ hard work and commitment to the study; encourage further engagement in the study; maintain our relationships with each agency. These events will be a chance to network with other professionals across the participating agencies. We encourage you to consider sending a number of staff to the nearest event on the following dates. Midlands on Tuesday 10th September, Grapevine, Coventry London on Tuesday 24th September, Guy’s Campus King’s College London North West on Thursday 26th September, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, Adelphi Building Conference Room More information to follow soon!
Agency in Focus… n-compass North West Ltd is a charitable organisation with a range of localised services across the North West of England which aim to enhance life opportunities of individuals by using an innovative and responsive approach. The organisation does this by providing a range of services such as Lancashire Advocacy, Self-Harm Services (Butterfly and Phoenix projects), Carer’s Point!, Health and Wellbeing and volunteering opportunities.
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In January 2013, members of the ncompass’ Health and Wellbeing team attended two days training in Preston to enable us to be involved in the Connecting People Intervention Study. The Help Direct Outreach Team and North Lancs Health Trainers really enjoyed the training and their enthusiasm was evident in their application to the activities completed over both days. The quality and clarity of the training delivered and the ease of accessibility to make the referrals to Sharon has been a bonus for workers, and customers have reflected and fed back to the Outreach Team about the positive experience which they have found when being interviewed. It would seem that the only individuals to have declined this offer are individuals living on the margins of society with complex needs, particularly involving poverty. These individuals may not have phones, computers and have difficulty collecting mail through living in sub-standard housing. Feedback from those involved in the study has been positive reporting that it is reassuring that n-compass works in a forward thinking way with a responsive approach. We also found that approaching customers to take part in the study has not intruded into regular work practices, nor has it been seen as a burden. As attendees of the training sessions we have disseminated our learning to our colleagues and the Volunteer Co-ordinator has made use of 6|P a g e
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the information and methodology to deliver training to our volunteers who previously had no concept of how the relationships between customers and professionals/services came together. The PowerPoint has been an exceptional learning and training aid giving clarity to the overall position of the support mechanism and how the agency, the worker and the customer overlap. The format of the presentation in pictorial form was seen as a major benefit for everyone and highlighted barriers which potentially exist and it opened up opportunities to discuss how as individuals we would overcome them. Throughout the training days we felt valued and there were no discernible barriers preventing the best learning opportunities from the sessions. Ncompass staff reflected upon being involved in the Connecting People Intervention Study as an overall positive experience both for themselves and their customers. Lead Health Trainer Rachael Bailey
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A de go (goodbye) United Kingdom, kushɛ (hello) Sierra Leone!… A new research project led by Martin and Meredith has recently been given a boost after receiving funding from the Wellcome Trust and the University of York via the Centre for Chronic Diseases and Disorders (C2D2). The C2D2 grant will fund Meredith, in collaboration with Dr Susie Whitwell from King’s Centre for Global Health, to visit Sierra Leone in July 2013 to explore how social interventions can help to meet the needs of people with mental health problems. The study will use ethnographic methods to evaluate the feasibility of adapting the Connecting People Intervention model and developing a sustainable training programme. To learn more about the Connecting People Intervention International Feasibility Study and to follow the progress of Meredith and Susie in Sierra Leone next month, visit the ICMHSR website: http://www.york.ac.uk/spsw/research/cmhsr/news/ Learn more Krio, the de facto national language spoken throughout the West African nation of Sierra Leone.
Good Luck to Hannah… One of our star researchers is leaving us for pastures new – Hannah, who has been an integral part of the research team, developing the practice guidance, facilitating training and working on filming to ensure the CPI lives on beyond the project, are just a few of the paramount pieces of work Hannah has completed for the project. We would like to say a huge thank you and good luck for the future Hannah, we know you’ll continue to shine bright in the next steps of your career.
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Hannah says… “Working on the Connecting People Study has been an incredibly interesting and exciting experience. I have met so many different people and been lucky enough to see some truly remarkable examples of practice within the health and social care world. My work has been really varied, ranging from playing netball with Start Again in Birmingham to getting my head stuck into qualitative data analysis to filming Waltham Forest’s allotment project in North East London…variety is the spice of life! I am sure that the rest of the study will continue from strength to strength and would like to thank my amazing team for their support and wealth of knowledge over the past few years!”
How to contact us… We hope you’ve enjoyed reading this newsletter. We welcome your questions and feedback about all aspects of the Connecting People Intervention Study (CPIS). If you are an agency involved in the piloting of the Connecting People Intervention and have a query for the research team or wish to comment on any of our study materials please email us at cpis@gmail.com A member of our research team will respond to your Email within one working day. Thank you! FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT
Connecting People Study
http://connectingpeoplestudy.net
@Connecting_ppl
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