Aims:
Summary:
The Northern Territory (NT) is a culturally diverse, sparsely populated area with unique health care needs. This presents challenges in the delivery of culturally safe mental health care. Compounding these challenges, position vacancy rates in community mental health services are high and the sector struggles to retain suitability qualified staff. In response, the Northern Territory Mental Health Coalition consulted with the sector to determine training and workforce priorities. Through this process, the ‘Mental Health Build Skills’ was designed and aimed to provide existing pre-certificate and other generalist staff of member organisations with low-cost training in the areas of trauma informed practice and cultural safety. At an industry round-table, the sector chose four units of a Certificate IV Mental Health course for Build Skills training. Training was delivered face to face, in 2 day blocks, 1 month apart. 146 staff/students from 25 different organisations within 4 urban and remote regional centres engaged in the training. This evaluation utilised a convergent mixed methods approach to understand the processes undertaken, the impact on service delivery, personal development, workforce development, and potential for future expansion.
Implications for policy and practice:
Evaluation findings will be used to provide an evidence base to inform future health workforce initiatives.
Our research has found:
Overall, the Mental Health Build Skills initiative has been positively received by organisations, trainees, and managers across the NT. Micro-credentialing of core skills to Mental Health workers appears to have good outcomes, for both trainees, clients and the sector alike. Delivery of learning units may be best offered on a cyclical or rotating basis to assist in consistent education and retention. It would be advantageous to develop and incorporate training packages that include co-creation and co-delivery particularly with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Several recommendations have been highlighted which will aim to strengthen future initiatives.
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Project dates:
June 2023 - August 2024