The role of champions in promoting family focused practice across adult mental health and children's services

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objective: Parental mental illness can affect the well-being of parents and their children; various initiatives have been developed to support professionals to be family focused. The Champions’ Model was introduced in Health and Social Care Trusts in Northern Ireland to promote professionals’ capacity to engage in Family Focused Practice, however there has been limited research into this initiative. This article aims to explore the activities undertaken by Champions in one Health and Social Care Trust, with a focus on making recommendations for service development. Method: A brief questionnaire was used to collect quantitative and qualitative data. The questionnaire contained five, tick box questions relating to activities of Champions and a sixth open ended question seeking examples of good practice. The questionnaire was distributed to all individuals (N = 65) who were listed as Champions in one Health and Social Care Trust. Results: Of 65 questionnaires distributed 29 were returned. Participants described carrying out some activities of the Champions’ role. Twenty six respondents provided examples of how the Initiative positively influenced their own and other colleagues’ practice, including promoting communication and collaboration between Adult Mental Health and Children's Services. Lack of time and organisational support to carry out the role emerged as barriers. Discussion: Results suggest the Champions’ Initiative has a positive influence on promoting Family Focused Practice across the Adult Mental Health and Children's services interface and contributes to addressing barriers identified in the literature. Views of Line Managers, colleagues and service users on the effectiveness of the Initiative require exploration.