Ying Wang, Melissa Chapman, Louise Byrne, James Hill and Timothy Bartram
This case documents an innovative human resource management (HRM) practice adopted by an Australian organization in the energy sector, purposefully introducing lived experience…
Abstract
Purpose
This case documents an innovative human resource management (HRM) practice adopted by an Australian organization in the energy sector, purposefully introducing lived experience informed “mental health advocate” (MHA) roles into the organization, to address pressing mental health workforce issues. MHA roles provide experiential, first-hand knowledge of experiencing mental health issues, offering a novel, common-sense and impactful perspective on supporting employees with mental health challenges.
Approach
Data that informed this case came from desktop research using publicly available resources, as well as a series of conversations with four key stakeholders in the organization. This approach allowed insights into Energy Queensland’s journey towards establishing novel MHA roles to delineate the day-to-day work practice of these roles.
Contribution to Practice
This is a novel HRM practice that has only recently emerged outside of the mental health sector. We discuss key considerations that enabled the success of the roles, including taking an evolutionary perspective, obtaining support from senior executives and relevant stakeholders, making a long-term financial commitment, and providing autonomy and flexibility in role design. This is the first article that documents this innovative practice to offer new insights to HRM scholars, as well as practical guidelines to other organizations in addressing workforce mental health issues.
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Heather Richardson, Angela Payne, Emily Richardson, Myint Oo, Mandy Weir, Amy-Louise Byrne, Danielle Le Lagadec and Melanie Hayman
Residential Medication Management Reviews (RMMR) are a key component of safe, high-quality aged care service delivery. The RMMR is an interdisciplinary approach to medication…
Abstract
Purpose
Residential Medication Management Reviews (RMMR) are a key component of safe, high-quality aged care service delivery. The RMMR is an interdisciplinary approach to medication management that relies on collaboration, communication and integration of systems. Acting as an improvement opportunity, the purpose of this paper is to present findings from a regional study, aimed at assessing the impact of RMMR on falls and hospital admissions and identifies barriers to impactful research in this area.
Design/methodology/approach
A three-year retrospective quantitative longitudinal practice audit was conducted in a regional state-managed high-care residential facility in Queensland, Australia. Data was collected pre-RMMR and six months post-RMMR.
Findings
The data collected was insufficient to achieve statistical significance or demonstrate the impact of RMMR on health outcomes. Factors impeding the research included limited ability to collect the data due to the lack of integration of information systems and limited stakeholder engagement resulting in poor recruitment. This highlights the need for improvement in RMMR processes and practices, and indeed wider research collaboration in the aged care sector.
Research limitations/implications
Thís paper acts as a call to action to improve research and interprofessional collaboration in Australian aged care.
Originality/value
The aged care industry needs high-quality research to drive practice improvement and collaborative care and service delivery. This paper advocates for improvements in the aged care sector with respect to research engagement and communication pathways between service providers. Advancement in systems integration for information sharing, recruitment of participants and stakeholder engagement will support evidence-based practice and process change.
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Agnieszka Sobolewska, Amy-Louise Byrne, Clare Lynette Harvey, Eileen Willis, Adele Baldwin, Sandy McLellan and David Heard
The purpose of the paper is to explore how the national, state and organisational health policies in Australia support the implementation of person-centred care in managing…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the paper is to explore how the national, state and organisational health policies in Australia support the implementation of person-centred care in managing chronic care conditions.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative content analysis was performed regarding the national, state and organisational Queensland Health policies using Elo and Kyngas' (2008) framework.
Findings
Although the person-centred care as an approach is well articulated in health policies, there is still no definitive measure or approach to embedding it into operational services. Complex funding structures and competing priorities of the governments and the health organisations carry the risk that person-centred care as an approach gets lost in translation. Three themes emerged: the patient versus the government; health care delivery versus the political agenda; and health care organisational processes versus the patient.
Research limitations/implications
Given that person-centred care is the recommended approach for responding to chronic health conditions, further empirical research is required to evaluate how programs designed to deliver person-centred care achieve that objective in practice.
Practical implications
This research highlights the complex environment in which the person-centred approach is implemented. Short-term programmes created specifically to focus on person-centred care require the right organisational infrastructure, support and direction. This review demonstrates the need for alignment of policies related to chronic disease management at the broader organisational level.
Originality/value
Given the introduction of the nurse navigator program to take up a person-centred care approach, the review of the recent policies was undertaken to understand how they support this initiative.
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Jillian Cavanagh, Ying Wang, Hannah Meacham, Louise Byrne and Timothy Bartram
Sue Holttum, Laura Lea, Di Morris, Linda Riley and Diana Byrne
This paper aims to describe the challenges and rewards of service user and carer involvement in clinical psychology training as experienced in one training centre.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to describe the challenges and rewards of service user and carer involvement in clinical psychology training as experienced in one training centre.
Design/methodology/approach
After outlining the major challenges of involvement in higher education and in clinical psychology training, the paper describes the work carried out by the authors. Members of the service user and carer advisory group Salomons Advisory Group of Experts by Experience (SAGE) recount their experiences of working with them in clinical psychology and Increasing Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) training. The challenges of inclusion and specific approaches that are used to work with these are explored.
Findings
Members of SAGE have experienced their contributions to the work in positive ways. However, inclusion in this context requires everyone involved to fully acknowledge the social and historical barriers in order to work together to overcome them.
Practical implications
Some of the approaches to meeting the challenges of inclusion in doctoral level clinical training may be applicable in other places.
Social implications
In the authors' experience, true inclusion means openness to the authoritative voices of people not normally viewed as educators. A parallel question is the degree to which professionals feel safe to admit to service user experience or to draw upon other aspects of their personhood while working professionally. This may be crucial for successful partnership.
Originality/value
The authors are still on this journey of inclusion, and hope that by sharing some of their experiences of its complexities that they may help illuminate some elements of others' journeys.
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Peter Holland, Timothy Bartram, Thomas Garavan and Kirsteen Grant
The purpose of this research is to investigate the practice of business investment in arts and culture, and provide a better understanding of this phenomenon from a competitive…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to investigate the practice of business investment in arts and culture, and provide a better understanding of this phenomenon from a competitive strategy perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
Our understanding of the way in which companies build relations with the arts and cultural world is very limited. Many studies have looked at the marketing implications but have not really expanded on the larger impact of these activities on overall company strategy and results. The competitive advantage/competitive strategy framework provides a new perspective on the issue and highlights how the different ways in which businesses collaborate and build relations with the arts can be understood as an integral part of the company's activities. In order to illustrate how arts and culture can impact on companies' competitive advantage we present a series of case studies from Italy.
Findings
The case studies presented provide a useful set of tools for other companies, involved in supporting the arts or considering similar activities, to benchmark their activities and the nature of their involvement against some successful international case studies.
Originality/value
The paper is an original attempt to situate a common business practice such as business support of the arts in a larger understanding of our socio‐economic context. Such practices are usually dismissed as simple philanthropy, although they can have a strong connection with the competitive strategy of a company and be a source of competitive advantage, particularly in a new economic era where aesthetic, creative and symbolic values attached to goods and services are becoming increasingly important.