DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
Provision of Mental Health Disorders Package for Rural Practice external evaluation
This assignment was undertaken for the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM). The major focus of the evaluation is on the viability and sustainability of the delivery of the Mental Health Disorders Package for Rural Practice using “Elluminate Live”, with particular focus on the advanced skills training modules and their impact on expanding GP capacity.
The first part of the evaluation involved analysis and validation of internal evaluation data collected by ACRRM throughout the various phases of the project, in order to determine key outcomes achieved with regards to: Relevance (degree of appropriateness of module content and learning outcomes in the context of rural and remote medicine), Learning outcomes (degree to which program outputs have made a positive contribution to mental health skills training in the rural and remote context) and Educational design (including the efficiency and effectiveness of “Elluminate” in the delivery of the modules).
The second part of the evaluation expanded on findings from the internal evaluation data, with a focus on additional factors of interest in order to determine recommendations regarding the ongoing viability and sustainability of the package.
The project required review of program documentation, design of data collection tools and consultation with key stakeholders including General Practitioners working with mental health patients, key ACRRM staff, Working Group representatives (Chair, Consumer and Carer), Program Facilitator, General Practice Mental Health Standards Collaboration (GPMHSC), and the (former) Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA).
Evaluation of Project Tele-Nexus
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) engaged Evolution Research to evaluate Project Tele-Nexus which required the RACGP to undertake six mandated activities to assist the government’s telehealth initiative to enable Australians in rural, remote and outer metropolitan areas to have better access to specialist services. The specific objectives of the Project were to: 1. Produce a set of clinical practice guidelines to support the implementation of successful video consultation services between GPs and other specialists in the delivery of patient care; 2. Develop a secure online national service provider directory of specialists and GPs providing video consultations; 3. Develop online training and education activities on video consultations for GP (and clinicians working on their behalf); 4. Include a telehealth stream to educate and train GPs in video consultations at GP12; 5. Raise stakeholder awareness of video consultations that targets outer metropolitan, regional, remote, indigenous and residential aged care communities; and 6. Improve access to specialists via video consultations for indigenous and rural and remote population groups. The approach to the evaluation consisted of both quantitative and qualitative analysis of data and anecdotal feedback and extensive review of available documentation relevant to the delivery of activities associated with each of the project’s deliverables. The relevant data and evidence sources corresponding to each of the six objectives of the project were reviewed and analysed to determine progress and outcomes achieved for each of the objectives. Findings and recommendations for future improvement were presented according to each separate objective.
Enquiry into claims regarding leprosy testing on Aboriginal children in the Northern Territory between 1920 and 1960
This assignment, undertaken for the (former) Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health (OATSIH) involved two stages as part of a detailed investigation of the treatment of Aboriginal people with leprosy in Kahlin Compound (Darwin) in the early to mid-1900s.
The first stage of the project involved a literature review undertaken focusing on the treatment and epidemiology of leprosy through the early to mid-1900s. The review was based on published literature relating to the treatment of Aboriginal people with leprosy in the Northern Territory, although it also included other Australian articles and some international evidence regarding the epidemiology and the evolution of leprosy treatment. Publicly accessible records were examined during the literature review, including unpublished and limited circulation documents held by the National Archives of Australia (NAA) and other public archives. Archived records were searched for references to the treatment of leprosy in the Northern Territory, with a specific search for items relating to the Kahlin Compound.
The second stage of the project involved alternative information sources, including non-public archives and individual patient/client records and discussions with people identified as possessing knowledge of potential relevance. Patient records were reviewed at Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH) and the Centre for Disease Control (CDC), as well as records from the National Archives of Australia (NAA), Northern Territory (NT) Archives and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (OLSH) Religious Order. A comprehensive report detailing the findings and providing recommendations in line with the aims of the enquiry was prepared. This project was of a highly politically sensitive nature and included consultation requiring cultural sensitivity.