This section contains project summaries for the years:
Delivery of Mental Health Workers Training Program Web-based Self-Assessment Tool
Project Overview
The proposed 2010/11 project has two elements:
Element 1: National delivery of the mental health worker training program using a train the trainer approach.
Element 2: Development of a Web-based Self-Assessment Tool for Registrants.
The Diabetes MILES Study: Management and Impact for Long-term Empowerment and Success Project Overview
The Diabetes MILES Study is a self-report survey of the psychological health and unmet needs of Australian adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. The survey will be sent to 15,000 NDSS Registrants and made available online to all English-speaking Australian adults (18-70) living with type 1 or type 2 diabetes.
The proposed project will investigate the following five themes:
Self-Management: To identify the extent to which people with diabetes are actively managing their condition, adhering to recommended treatment strategies; action and inaction in relation to diabetes self-management, adoption of healthy lifestyle and risk-taking behaviours; why people do less than they should and whether people are realistic in their ideas about self-management.
Impact: To explore the full impact of diabetes (including its treatment and complications) on quality of life as well as to assess levels of diabetes-related distress and generic anxiety/ depression.
Literacy: To assess the individual‟s capacity and capabilities with regard to accessing health information (seeking, understanding and utilising) and how that influences self-reported self-management, quality of life and other psychosocial factors
Empowerment: To identify the extent to which people with diabetes (a) feel empowered to manage their condition, (b) perceive that their health professionals are supportive of the empowered individual, (c) have access to and have accessed appropriate healthcare resources in the past year
Success: To identify aspects of positive mental health associated with successful living with diabetes as well as identifying the health beliefs, values and priorities of individuals that mediate optimal outcomes.
Diabetes Training for Mental Health Workers
Project Overview
This project will have two elements:
1. A national approach focusing on diabetes education for mental health workers in the public health system and in private practice to increase awareness and understanding of diabetes for mental health workers and to improve the quality of care for registrants with a mental health problem. It will build on existing resources around diabetes and psychosocial issues (e.g. depression, body image, young people and mental health)
2. The development of a web-based self-assessment tool that any registrant could utilise, and which is linked to other self-help resources. This tool will raise awareness in registrants about the psychosocial and mental health issues which they may experience as a consequence of managing their diabetes, and guide them to seek assistance.