Moving in the Right Direction - Articles From Ontario's Systems Enhancement Evaluation Initiative (SEEI)

Abstract

Welcome to this special edition of the Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health. We are delighted to be guest editors of this issue and to be given the privilege to assist in presenting the hard work of many outstanding researchers committed to bringing new understandings to the community mental health sector. We gratefully acknowledge the instrumental role of dr. paula goering in creating this unique opportunity for researchers and other mental health system stakeholders in ontario.Beginning in 2005, ontario's Ministry of health and Long-term care made a 52% increase in investments to the community mental health sector. A total of $167 million was infused into community mental health services in the province. this enhancement included increases in funding for crisis services, intensive case management, court diversion and support, assertive community treatment, and early intervention in psychosis. the Ministry also committed dollars to evaluating the impact of these investments. the result of that investment in evaluation is contained in these pages. the researchers presenting their findings are all dedicated to the ongoing challenge of figuring out what is working and what we can do better. this was the goal of the Systems enhancement evaluation initiative (Seei).the health Systems research and consulting Unit, centre for Addiction and Mental health, directed by dr. goering, led the Systems enhancement evaluation initiative. the projects brought together researchers and stakeholders to develop and undertake system evaluation research to better understand the impact of increased investments in community mental health. After a peer-reviewed process facilitated by the ontario Mental health Foundation, nine studies were approved. the studies cover a wide range of approaches including system-level and site-specific evaluation projects, and use a variety of research methods. the results are rich in detailing the complexity of program development and implementation in mental health care.What is most exciting for us is the unique opportunity to tackle messy, real-world evaluation researchmuch like the messy, real world people find themselves in when they seek help for mental health problems. our research world is not about undertaking the perfectly designed research study. it is about joining with persons living with mental illness, families, providers, decision-makers and other researchers to try to figure out what is working and what we can improve on. the research studies presented here involved investigators from a variety of backgrounds in the work. these individuals helped us to develop the research questions

Exploring the impact of common assessment instrumentation on communication and collaboration in inpatient and community-based mental health settings: a focus group study

“…That there was not an immediate impact is neither surprising nor unexpected. It is well-known, for example, that the impact of new funds into the mental health system may not be evident until several years later [ 14 ]. Therefore, it may be some time before the impact of an integrated mental health information system on communication is realized.…”

“…However, work is needed to organize the assessment information in a way that is useful and meaningful to the clinician who is using it. This is certainly worth doing given the recognized need for an integrated information system based on individual-level data that would permit tracking of individuals across the mental health care continuum [ 14 ], like the RAI-MH and interRAI CMH. Future work, therefore, should focus on ways to facilitate uptake of assessment information - for example, on development of evidence-based, meaningful clinical summaries for the various professionals involved in mental health care.…”