CRRMH Quarterly Report June 2020
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CENTRE FOR RURAL & REMOTE MENTAL HEALTH Quarterly Report April – June 2020 About the CRRMH The Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health (CRRMH) is based in Orange NSW and is a major rural initiative of the University of Newcastle and the NSW Ministry of Health. Our staff are located across rural and remote NSW. The Centre is committed to improving mental health and wellbeing in rural and remote communities. We focus on the following key areas: • the promotion of good mental health and the prevention of mental illness; • developing the mental health system to better meet the needs of people living in rural and remote regions; and • understanding and responding to rural suicide. Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health As the Australian Collaborating Centre for the International Foundation for PO Box 8043 Integrated Care, we promote patient-centred rather than provider-focused Orange East NSW 2800 care that integrates mental and physical health concerns. T +61 2 6363 8444 E [email protected] As part of the University of Newcastle, all of our activities are underpinned by research evidence and evaluated to ensure appropriateness and effectiveness. crrmh.com.au @crrmh @crrmhnsw /company/crrmh 2 | Centre for Rural & Remote Mental Health Quarterly Report: April – June 2020 Contents Report Page Director’s Report 4 Snapshot of the Quarter 5 Research 6 John Hoskin Library 7 Connections 8 Communications 10 Online Connections 12 Partnerships 14 Rural Adversity Mental Health Program (RAMHP) 19 Staff News 22 Appendix 21 3 | Centre for Rural & Remote Mental Health Quarterly Report: April – June 2020 Director’s Report Centre Director Professor David Perkins The second quarter of 2020 was not what we expected in our planning for the year. The combination of drought, bushfires and COVID-19 changed the landscape in which rural people live and the patterns of service delivery considered safe for clients and providers. Direct impacts of this process included the cessation of opportunities for face-to-face community interactions and the urgent need to develop virtual alternatives that were accessible and effective. For many, the restrictions of travel and association added to the normal burdens of distress due to illness and loneliness and the health impacts of these stressors are yet to be seen in full. The challenges faced by rural communities resulted in new rural service developments funded by state and federal governments and by charitable donations. These responses have added to the complexity of rural mental health services and many new roles and responsibilities have had to be developed and understood. Each Local Health District adopted approaches that suited local needs and there are considerable differences in the service mix available across rural NSW. Linking people to appropriate services, the role of our RAMHP program, has become even more important. During this time, Centre staff and RAMHP Coordinators had to adapt their ways of working and find new ways of communicating with their communities as normal events were cancelled, and preparations and plans postponed or delayed. The CRRMH has adopted a multi-platform approach for many years and so we were well positioned to deliver new online solutions during this time. This includes addressing men’s mental health with the launch of You Got This Mate, rural small business owner with the Ahead for Business Wellbeing of rural business owners project and enhanced online resources on our websites. Online versions of RAMHP's training programs will also be launched soon. Our CRRMH administrative staff were able to facilitate working from home arrangements in days and as this report shows there was no loss in productivity. A particular thank you is due to the leadership team of Tessa Cummins, Hazel Dalton, Rosie Dunnett and Vanessa Delaney who completed the Proposed Business Plan for 2021+ which is a requirement for our continued funding by NSW Health’s Mental Health Branch. Hazel and Tessa also did a remarkable job when they were called upon to act as Directors in my absence. On the research front, Emma Austin was awarded her PhD for her work on the links between drought and mental health and we look forward to continuing this collaboration moving forwards. Finally, rural NSW is often thought of as the west and the coastal communities are forgotten. The CRRMH has entered into an exciting new partnership with Landcare, Surf Lifesaving NSW and Gotcha 4 Life which brings the country and the coast together. We look forward to the promotion of mental fitness in these communities and strong relationships with our partners. We are more effective when we understand the evidence and work collaboratively. Stay safe, David Perkins 4 | Centre for Rural & Remote Mental Health Quarterly Report: April – June 2020 Snapshot of the Quarter Research John Hoskin Library Connections Communications Online Connections The Orange New Dr Scott Fitzpatrick was Wellbeing in Declaration paper The New men’s mental John Hoskin Library invited to speak at a Rural Small Business ranked 9th most guide webpage now live on health website You Got webpages created in Ministerial Roundtable the University of Newcastle This Mate launched in conjunction with the downloaded article on Male Suicide in website April Ahead for Business on Wiley’s Online NSW on 26 May Library research project Partnerships Partnerships RAMHP Staff News Text text 396 people linked to Executive Support Major collaboration care Officer Janice between RAMHP, 41 training courses Whittingham and Gotcha4Life, Landcare delivered to 695 RAMHP Coordinator and Surf Life Saving participants Team Leader Kate NSW announced 83 community events Elligett welcomed to attended the team 5 | Centre for Rural & Remote Mental Health Quarterly Report: April – June 2020 Research Compiled by Research Assistant Lucy McEvoy Published this quarter: 2 papers, 5 blogs and 1 short article Published: Professor David The Orange Declaration Published: Dr Emma Austin’s Perkins’ blog on The Orange ranked 9th most downloaded blog - rural residents’ biggest Declaration for the International article on Wiley’s Online concerns about climate Foundation for Integrated Care Library change. For more detailed information please see Appendices 1-5 6 | Centre for Rural & Remote Mental Health Quarterly Report: April – June 2020 John Hoskin Library Compiled by Centre Librarian Paul Stanfield Library Updates Note: Figures are for May & June only, due to staff leave taken in April • COVID-19 precautions taken to minimise staff exposure to visitors has affected library activity this quarter. Library Total • Short ready reference inquires were down compared to last quarter. Overall, ready reference Activity inquiries were down from 110 to 86. Short reference 86 • Interlibrary loan requests - GRATIS increased for CRRMH staff from 3 to 7, but were down for Interlibrary loans 16 requests - Western NSW LHD staff from 20 to 2. GRATIS • Requests supplied from the CRRMH library were up from 111 to 227. Of these requests, 170 were for Interlibrary loan 2 Western NSW LHD staff. requests - UON Interlibrary loans 5 • Loans were largely not possible during the quarter due to COVID-19 precautions, with one loan incomplete supplied in June. Requests 227 • 19 Literature searches were performed for Western NSW LHD staff, and 2 were performed for supplied from CRRMH library CRRMH staff. Requests 7 • The John Hoskin library guide webpage has been completed and is now live on the University of supplied external Newcastle website. to CRRMH library Loans 1 Connections with UON • CRRMH Librarian Paul Stanfield continues to consult with UON Senior Research librarian Debbie Booth. This quarter weeding criteria for the CRRMH library collection was established; the draft is currently under review by management. 7 | Centre for Rural & Remote Mental Health Quarterly Report: April – June 2020 Connections Compiled by Senior Development Officer Vanessa Delaney • Dr Scott Fitzpatrick was invited to speak at a Ministerial Roundtable on Male Suicide in NSW on 26 May. The webinar also involved several 'breakout’ discussions. Together with Tessa Cummins and Claire Gander from our RAMHP team, Scott contributed to a discussion of male suicide prevention in rural and remote NSW. Key findings from these discussions were captured and will be reported back to the Minister and her team. • CRRMH Senior Development Officer Vanessa Delaney and RAMHP Coordinator Phil Worrad have joined the Orange Suicide Prevention Network which is a group of local mental health service providers and people with a lived experience of suicide who meet monthly. The group plan local community engagement activities throughout the year, such as World Suicide Prevention Day and RUOK Day. • RAMHP Program Manager Tessa Cummins was invited to be a judge for the State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA) “Hack Day” on 16 June. The inaugural online event saw teams of health practitioners, mental health advocates, researchers, students and people with a lived experience work together to find solutions to a workplace mental health problem. SIRA is represented on the NSW Mentally Healthy Workplaces Sector Group along with the CRRMH. 8 | Centre for Rural & Remote Mental Health Quarterly Report: April – June 2020 Connections cont. Compiled by Senior Development Officer Vanessa Delaney • Lucy McEvoy and Dr Kris Gottschall from the research team attended the first session of the virtual Western Health Research Network (WHRN) Symposium on 11 June. The symposium, “By Us, For Us, With Us” was attended by about 160 and focused on online and digital for rural communities. Specifically, presenters spoke about research with and for Indigenous Australians and the possibility of online engagement with Indigenous communities. This was the first of a series of sessions as part of By Us, For Us, With Us. • RAMHP Program Manager Tessa Cummins has joined the DPI COVID-19 Regional Affairs Working Group. The cross-industry working group will share advice and contribute to a coordinated approach, ensuring rural communities are supported throughout the COVID-19 journey.