Multi‐agency Work in Practice: The Evaluation of a Primary Care‐based Mental Health Promotion Project
| Date | 01 March 2000 |
| Pages | 18-26 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/17465729200000018 |
| Published date | 01 March 2000 |
| Author | Hazel Watson |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care |
18 International Journal of Mental Health Promotion VOLUME 2 ISSUE 3 • AUGUST 2000 © Pavilion Publishing (Brighton) Limited.
Introduction
Issues of deprivation and inequalities in access to health care have
been raised as central matters of concern in the recent government
White Papers (Department of Health, 1998; Scottish Office, 1999).The
Government now appears to be actively encouraging collab orative
approaches to address long-standing problems, and has advocated
joint efforts through the establishment of partnerships between a
variety of agencies. The Choices Project, a primary care-based mental
health promotion project, was part of a range of services which were
set up and funded by Greater Glasgow Health Board’s Health
Promotion Department as part of an initiative to address inequalities.
The Project was piloted in an area of multiple deprivation over a period
of approximately one year, after which an independent evaluation of
the service was conducted. This article contains a description of the
Project, and a summary of the retrospective evaluation and its
findings.
Background
The medical centre where the Choices Project was piloted accommo-
dates two general medical practices. The aim of the Project was to
address the mental, social and emotional health needs of clients living
in a deprived area, and to facilitate a multi-agency approach to
primary care mental health promotion. Before setting up the Project,
the team had decided that the medical centre was an appropriate
venue, since its situation was central to the community it served and
was a facility which was well used and familiar to the potential users
of the Project. It was
also felt that the services offered by the Project team might be of
benefit to the staff who worked in the centre, as well as to clients.
The area had been identified as one of multiple deprivation, having
been designated as having Priority Status 1 by the social strategy
section of the local authority.Classification of the area according to
the priority rating was achieved through analysis
of a variety of social, economic and demographic information which
was available from the 1991 Census conducted by the Office of
Population Censuses and Surveys. Five indicators of deprivation were
Multi-agency Work
in Practice: The Evaluation of
a Primary Care-based Mental
Health Promotion Project
Hazel E. Watson
Senior Lecturer, Department of Nursing and
Community Health, Glasgow Caledonian
University
FEATURE
This article reports the evaluation of the Choices
Project, an initiative which was developed
to address health inequalities and was piloted
in a medical centre in an area of multiple
deprivation. The article reports an evaluation
of the pilot. The Project was found to have
achieved its aims of addressing the mental,
social and emotional health needs of clients
living in a deprived area, and facilitating a
multi-agency approach to primary care health
promotion. In addition to running a consultation
clinic, the Project workers set up advice services,
such as a welfare benefits and debt counselling
service, and provided information about local
resources. The results of the evaluation
demonstrated the approach to be valued
by the staff of the medical centre and effective
for a significant number of clients who
presented with a variety of problems which had
serious consequences for health, but which
were not caused by problems traditionally
viewed as medical.
ABSTRACT
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