Australian Rotary Health

Evaluation of Mental Health Service Provision 2009

 

Philippa manages the Research and Policy team at the Inspire Foundation and has primary responsibility for the evaluation, research and policy program at the Foundation. Philippa has a particular interest in political participation and its relationship to health and wellbeing.

She has recently published two reports that will increase the sector’s understanding of youth participation and its fundamental importance to addressing the social determinants of health for young people: ‘Rewriting the rules for youth participation: Inclusion and diversity in government and community decision making’ (for National Youth Affairs Research Scheme) and ‘Young people imagining a new democracy: Literature review’ (for the Whitlam Institute). She also has a particular interest in internet and international comparative research.

Research has long hinted at a link between the valued participation of Australian youth and their good mental health, however, despite an uptake in youth participation strategies by a number of public and community sectors, little is known for certain about this  or how variables such as social inclusion impact on the organsiation and its surrounding communities.
 

Inspire is one such organisation that is encouraging participation through their youth participation program that encourages Australian youth to assist in making important decisions about their own welfare.
 

This program was the subject of evaluation by Dr. Phillipa Collin and colleagues from the Inspire foundation in their Australian Rotary Health funded study entitled “Meaningful participation as a means of promoting the mental health and wellbeing of young Australians: an evaluation of Inspire’s youth participation program.”
 

The evaluation investigated how youth participation impacted on; individual mental health and wellbeing, service delivery and the ability of the program to meet its goals and also the culture and practices of Inspire as an organisation.   Participants aged 18-25 were invited to complete a survey in which they were questioned on their experience and the impact of their participatory role.
 

Five hundred and fifty current and past youth ambassadors were invited to undertake the survey with a response rate of 114 (20.7%).The 100 youth ambassadors, selected based on their geography or their involvement in Inspire activities, who were active in 2009 were then invited to participate in in-depth interviews and focus groups in Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth.”
 

The study found that those who took part in the Inspire youth participation program had a high self efficacy and felt a sense of belonging to the Inspire community, however this was not the case is if their expectations were not met in which case participants were found to feel anxiety, frustration and even anger.
 

Results also found that Inspire staff members thought the input from youth to be beneficial and valuable to the program and wider organisation.
 

The findings of the study provide an important piece of empirical data for Inspire that educate policy makers of their responsibility to youth participants and volunteers and will be used by Inspire to inform future program direction.
 

This the first instance in which a comprehensive evaluation of the mental health benefits of youth participation has been undertaken in an organisational setting and the evaluation findings will be disseminated throughout Inspires publications, as well as considered in future policy and decision making.