White, Carolynne 2023 04 18

Carolynne White

Carolynne is a registered occupational therapist and an Adjunct Research Fellow at Swinburne University of Technology. In her current role as Participation and Engagement Advisor at Mind Australia Limited, Carolynne is working to embed a culture of inclusion and participation across the organisation by engaging diverse consumers, family members and carers in activities that influence decision-making.

Abstract

Title: How to use program logic and co-design for the planning and implementation of health interventions

Author(s): Lauren Gibson, Carolynne White, Clara Chapman, Laura Hayes and Elise Whatley

Introduction: Mind is committed to supporting clients with mental ill-health with their physical health needs. A co-design process involving people with lived experience and staff was completed to revise Mind’s physical health resources, comprising of a physical health tool and practice guideline. Since the creation of these resources, several implementation activities have been completed to embed the tool into routine practice, including a dedicated intranet page and online webinar. However, evaluation is needed to determine how successful the revision and implementation of these physical health resources has been.

Method: To plan this evaluation, Mind’s research and participation team collaborated to create a program logic for the physical health resources. The program logic focuses on the immediate, intermediate, and intended outcomes of the resources and implementation activities, and maps out the data sources needed to determine whether these outcomes have been met.

Results & Findings: Two research questions guided evaluation planning. Do the resources: 1) support staff to have conversations with clients about their physical health? And 2) enable clients to set goals and receive support for their physical health needs? An online survey was co-designed to measure immediate outcomes related to staff knowledge, attitudes and intention to use the resources in their practice. An audit of client files will measure intermediate outcomes related to the number of clients who have a physical health tool completed (before and after resource redevelopment). Lastly, qualitative focus groups will be conducted with staff and clients to measure intended outcomes around whether the tool helped set goals and provide/receive physical health support.

Discussion: The presentation will highlight how program logic can be used to plan evaluations of physical health programs and understand whether they are achieving their intended impact. The information will be directly relevant to other organisations wanting to conduct evaluations with limited resources.