Design of mental health services to help recovery at the CORE of University study
Designing better mental health service experiences and care to improve recovery will be at the centre of an innovative study involving people with mental illness and their carers.
The three year CORE study will trial a new approach that brings together service users, carers and mental health staff to identify areas for improvement in mental health services.
The research team is currently recruiting participants for the study to take place across six Victorian Mental Health Community Support Services. The team will partner with the Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council and Tandem, the peak body representing mental health carers across the state.
Dr Victoria Palmer, from the General Practice and Primary Care Academic Centre at the University of Melbourne, said the study gives a voice to people with mental illness and their carers.
"This is the first time in Victoria that service users, carers and mental health clinicians will come together to co-design mental health services in a way that improves their opportunity for recovery.
"This new knowledge about co-designing care experiences will contribute to the continuous improvement of Victoria's mental illness research, treatment and support programs. Improving the community's knowledge of mental illness is also one of the aims of Mental Health Week."
The CORE study has received $1.7M from the Victorian government's $10M Mental Illness Research Fund which supports collaborative mental health research projects.
In the study, service users and carers will act as co-researchers with mental health staff to investigate changes to care and services which can improve the recovery process. The proposed solutions will be applied more broadly across Victoria's health care system.
"Recovery is a significant process for all people affected by mental illness including family, carers and friends. Governments and mental health service providers recognise they have an important role in improving the recovery of people with mental illness," said Dr Palmer.
Provided by University of Melbourne
