Implementing evidence‐based practices in supported employment on the Gold Coast for people with severe mental illness
Abstract
Aim: The aim of this project was to evaluate program outcomes following the implementation of an evidence‐based approach to supported employment on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. Method: A prospective observational design was used to evaluate employment outcomes and fidelity to the evidence‐based principles and practices of a specialised form of supported employment. The cohort was defined as all those (n = 114) that entered the program at each of three sites within a 21‐month period. Each participant was followed up for a minimum of six months. All three sites implemented the employment program by establishing a partnership between a non‐government organisation and the Gold Coast community mental health service. Results: The primary outcome variable was the proportion commencing competitive employment during the follow‐up period from among those that commenced receiving assistance (the denominator). This ranged from 12% at Site C to 33.3% at Site A, and 37% at Site B. Fidelity to evidence‐based principles was fair at Sites A and C and good at Site B. These results were below expectations based on international‐controlled trials. The variation in site effectiveness appeared related to both fidelity to evidence‐based principles and to other factors at each site, which could not be clearly identified. Conclusions: Delivering an effective supported employment program using an inter‐agency partnership method is challenging. There are several roles in which occupational therapists can be involved that facilitate improving both the implementation and the effectiveness of supported employment for people with severe mental illness in Australia.
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The Individual Placement and Support program yielded significant improvements in employment outcomes.
“Specifically, the Individual Placement and Support program, where participants had regular contact with a dedicated vocational worker, yielded significant improvements in employment outcomes (Waghorn et al. 2014;Williams et al. 2015;Scanlan et al. 2019).”
From Effect of community mental health care programs in Australia: A systematic review (2020) · cites this paper as Williams et al. 2015
Case management approaches can permit referrals to therapeutic support via psychologists, but this level of care is not a formalised component of case management and therefore not always facilitated.
“Although case management approaches can permit referrals to therapeutic support via psychologists, this level of care is not a formalised component of case management and therefore not always facilitated (Waghorn et al. 2014;Williams et al. 2015).”
From Effect of community mental health care programs in Australia: A systematic review (2020) · cites this paper as Williams et al. 2015
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- Authors
- Williams, P. L., Lloyd, C., Waghorn, G., & Machingura, T.
- Affiliations
- Gold Coast Hospital (AU)
- Griffith University (AU)
- Park Centre for Mental Health (AU)
- Venue
- Australian Occupational Therapy Journal
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2015-06-22
- Volume
- 62
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 316-325
- ISSN
- 0045-0766 (ISSN-L)
- 1440-1630
- OpenAlex
- W2096748469
- Cited by
- 26
- References
- 26
- Citations by year
- 2025: 3 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 5
- FWCI
- 10.66
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Australian Occupational Therapy Journal (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Griffith Research Online (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Disability Education and Employment
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Occupational Therapy › Occupational Therapy Practice and Research
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mental Health and Patient Involvement
- Keywords
- supported employment, severe mental illness, evidence-based practice implementation, implementation fidelity, competitive employment, inter-agency partnership, community mental health services, non-governmental organizations, role of occupational therapists, Gold Coast, Queensland
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Mental Disorders, Community Mental Health Services, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Occupational Therapy, Prospective Studies, Queensland, Program Evaluation, Employment, Supported, Evidence-Based Practice
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