Making an impact? Mental health improvement training in Scotland
| Published date | 01 September 2004 |
| Pages | 18-28 |
| Date | 01 September 2004 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/17465729200400016 |
| Author | Emma Halliday,Lynne Friedli,Allyson McCollam,Emma Hogg |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care |
Emma Halliday
Research associate
Scottish Development Centre for Mental
Health
Lynne Friedli
Public mental health consultant
Allyson McCollam
Chief executive
Scottish Development Centre for Mental
Health
Emma Hogg
Research specialist, mental health improvement
NHS Health Scotland
journal of mental health promotion •volume 3•issue 3 •september 2004 © Pavilion Publishing (Brighton) Ltd
18
Making an impact? Mental health improvement
training in Scotland
ABSTRACT
The current interest in evidence-based practice has led to a growing literature on the role of education and training in getting evidence to inform
professional practice. This report outlines the findings of an evaluation of a series of evidence-into-practice training workshops designed to
strengthen evidence-based practice in the delivery of mental health improvement in Scotland. Evaluation was conducted in two phases, in order
to assess the extent to which the training had influenced practice. The findings suggest that, in addition to providing high quality learning
opportunities for mental health improvement, considerable attention needs to be given to the barriers that inhibit putting learning into practice.
These barriers may need to be taken much more fully into account in the design and delivery of evidence-into-practice training.
The NHS currently spends £3-4 billion annually on
training staff, of which approximately ten per cent
(£300 million) is spent on mental health training
(Department of Health 2003).1Although there are
frequent calls for greater investment, the extent to
which training influences either practice or health
outcomes is open to question. This is particularly
evident in the difficulties in getting research evidence-
into-practice. Notwithstanding a plethora of education
and training initiatives, backed up by guidelines and
protocols, there is an apparently intractable gap
between what works and what happens across all areas,
from health promotion through to treatment and
management.
This report outlines the findings of an evaluation of
a series of evidence-into-practice training workshops,
designed to strengthen evidence-based practice in the
delivery of mental health improvement in Scotland.
NHS Health Scotland2has identified the following
elements in strengthening evidence- based practice:
•increasing knowledge and awareness of the existing
evidence base ie. what we know about what works
in mental health improvement
•involving practitioners in producing guidance on
evidence of effectiveness in the context of local
needs and priorities
•disseminating guidance on evidence in ways that are
accessible and relevant to practitioners and that
acknowledge barriers to implementing evidence-
based practice
1The NHS University has responsibility for widening access to training. NHSU currently covers England, although there are plans to extend the model and build
partnerships across the UK.
2Health Scotland is a new national health improvement agency created on 1 April 2003 by bringing together the Public Health Institute of Scotland (PHIS) and
the Health Education Board for Scotland (HEBS).
Evaluation
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