Team Well-being Research Articles

Experience of middle management nurses during the COVID‐19 pandemic in Switzerland: A qualitative study

To explore the experiences of middle management nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland. The outbreak of COVID-19 has placed extraordinary demands on health care systems worldwide, which were found mostly unprepared. In this situation, middle management nurses played a strategic role because they acted as a link between organizational directives and the clinical practice. This is a qualitative study that used a face-to-face interview with semi-structured questions to learn about the experiences of middle management nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. After recruiting participants through purposeful sampling, data were analysed by means of thematic analysis using Nvivo 12. In total, 12 middle managers were interviewed. Data analysis identified four macro-themes-Changes; Conflicting emotions; Relation; Role-and 20 sub-themes. The sudden challenges posed by the pandemic required middle managers to shift their focus from advanced planning to negotiation for meeting the rapidly evolving needs of nursing staff and top management, in order to guarantee the nursing team's well-being and organizational efficiency. Lessons learned from the pandemic suggest the need for fine-tuning organizational models and the importance that nurse middle managers affirm and uphold the core values for nursing and engage patient and staff advocacy.

RMIT together: An integrated mental health promotion campaign designed to build wellbeing and connection during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic, physical distancing requirements and new psychosocial risks, the RMIT Wellbeing team andleaders in the community focussedon responding to the changing needs of students and staff. Communication of reliable, timely and evidence-based information through the lens of mental health and wellbeing was a top priority. The ‘RMIT Together’ campaign was designed to bring the whole community together, creating new online groups to foster peer connection and coping skills development. This case study demonstrates the various functions and wellbeing benefits that mental health and wellbeing promotion, prevention and education can play during periods of unforeseen life-changing global stress. It also demonstrates the sustainability of such interventions to build community resilience and mental wellbeing.

Attitude of gratitude: focusing on staff health and wellbeing during Covid-19

One of State Library of Queensland’s health responses to COVID-19 was to form a staff Health & Wellbeing Team. The development of the Team was informed by data from two staff surveys circulated during the COVID-19 pandemic which indicated that some staff were feeling disconnected and disengaged from the workplace. The team was formed with the aim of devising ideas and initiatives to look after staff wellbeing at a time when feelings of vulnerability were high and the effects of up to six months working from home were starting to take their toll.

Motivational huddles to support team wellbeing through COVID-19

Gastrointestinal NursingVol. 19, No. Sup2 Guest EditorialMotivational huddles to support team wellbeing through COVID-19Vicky RinglandVicky Ringland(E-mail Address: [email protected])Endoscopy Lead Practitioner, University Hospitals of Derby and BurtonSearch for more papers by this authorVicky RinglandPublished Online:19 Mar 2021https://doi.org/10.12968/gasn.2021.19.Sup2.S3AboutSectionsView articleView Full TextPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail View article References Action for Happiness. Action calendar. 2021. www.actionforhappiness.org/media/968363/february_2021.jpg (accessed 9 March 2021) Google ScholarBehan C. The benefits of meditation and mindfulness practices during times of crisis such as COVID-19. Ir J Psychol Med. 2020; 37(4):256–258. https://doi.org/10.1017/ipm.2020.38 Crossref, Google ScholarFredrickson BL. The role of positive emotions in positive psychology. Am Psychol. 2001; 56(3):218–226 Crossref, Google ScholarHarn A. Make sense of your moods and emotions for clarity, confidence and wellbeing. London: Welbeck; 2015 Google ScholarHills L. The art of the morning huddle: how to use this simple tool to build your team. J Med Pract Manage. 2016; 32(3):202–206 Google ScholarLevitt T. Daily calm 10 minute mindfulness meditation. 2016. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZToicYcHIOU (accessed 9 March 2021) Google ScholarOshikanlu R. Maintaining motivation under pressure. Independent Nurse. 23 April 2015. www.independentnurse.co.uk/professional-article/maintaining-motivation-under-pressure/75955 (accessed 18 February 2021) Google ScholarSunny Present. Tools for a better life. 2015. www.sunnypresent.com (accessed 9 March 2021) Google ScholarVizheh M, Qorbani M, Arzaghi SM et al. The mental health of healthcare workers in the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review. J Diabetes Metab Disord. 2020; 19(2):1967–1978. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40200-020-00643-9 Crossref, Google ScholarWalton M, Murray E, Christian MD. Mental health care for medical staff and affiliated healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eur Heart J. 2020; 9(3):241–247. https://doi.org/10.1177/2048872620922795 Google Scholar FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails 1 March 2021Volume 19Issue Sup2ISSN (print): 1479-5248ISSN (online): 2052-2835 Metrics History Published online 19 March 2021 Published in print 1 March 2021 Information© MA Healthcare LimitedPDF download

A Digital Tool to Build the Capacity of Leaders to Improve Working Conditions Related to Psychological Health and Well-Being in Teams: Intervention Approach, Prototype, and Evaluation Design of the Web-Application “wecoach”

The “wecoach” is a web-application that builds the capacities of team leaders to improve working conditions that are positively related to the psychological health and well-being of their team members. The web-application works through an automated, rule-based chat enhanced by machine learning. This so-called conversational agent guides the team leader through a systematic project cycle, providing a mind map of work and health, training materials, self-assessments, and online tools to conduct team surveys and workshops, as well as self-evaluation of progress and effectiveness. In this paper, we present the development process of this web-application, which resulted in (1) a comprehensive intervention approach, (2) the prototype, and (3) the implementation of an evaluation design for a multi-level, randomized controlled trial.

How to thrive at work: tips for improving personal and team wellbeing

Wellbeing can be affected by many different factors, and it influences productivity at work. Following the Covid-19 pandemic, the importance of understanding how to manage your personal and team wellbeing...

See with Your Eyes, Hear with Your Ears and Listen to Your Heart: Moving from Dyadic Teamwork Interaction towards a More Effective Team Cohesion and Collaboration in Long-Term Spaceflights under Stressful Conditions

The scientific study of teamwork in the context of long-term spaceflight has uncovered a considerable amount of knowledge over the past 20 years. Although much is known about the underlying factors and processes of teamwork, much is left to be discovered for teams who operate in extreme isolation conditions during spaceflights. Thus, special considerations must be made to enhance teamwork and team well-being for long-term missions during which the team will live and work together. Being affected by both mental and physical stress during interactional context conversations might have a direct or indirect impact on team members’ speech acoustics, facial expressions, lexical choices and their physiological responses. The purpose of this article is (a) to illustrate the relationship between the modalities of vocal-acoustic, language and physiological cues during stressful teammate conversations, (b) to delineate promising research paths to help further our insights into understanding the underlying mechanisms of high team cohesion during spaceflights, (c) to build upon our preliminary experimental results that were recently published, using a dyadic team corpus during the demanding operational task of “diffusing a bomb” and (d) to outline a list of parameters that should be considered and examined that would be useful in spaceflights for team-effectiveness research in similarly stressful conditions. Under this view, it is expected to take us one step towards building an extremely non-intrusive and relatively inexpensive set of measures deployed in ground analogs to assess complex and dynamic behavior of individuals.

Evaluating a mental health service in a young offender’s institution: a thematic analysis of prison officer experiences

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to evaluate the current service provision offered by a mental health service in a young offenders institute (YOI) in England.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative exploratory approach was adopted. Five prison officers (POs) (four male and one female) with direct experience supporting young people through mental health intervention were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. Data was analysed using thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2006), which allowed evaluation of the current mental health provision to evolve.FindingsFive overarching themes (process of referrals; intervention and its impact; role and function of the health and well-being team; collaboration and involvement; and feedback, communication and intervention) were found to be highly salient when evaluating service provision. Notably all themes interrelated with one another, demonstrating that changes or improvements made to the service need to consider all factors individually and collectively.Research limitations/implicationsThis study was based on a small sample of POs in only one YOI in England, and therefore cannot be generalised to the entire prison estate. However, it does offer a rich insight into local service provision from the perspective of a group whose opinion is rarely sought.Practical implicationsPOs’ perspectives of service provision are important in informing service developments. Lessons can be learnt from their unique insight into how prison mental health services are run to improve processes and collaborative working in the management of young offenders with mental health difficulties.Originality/valueThis preliminary and exploratory study is, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the first study evaluating service provision by using the perspectives of POs. The findings suggest that POs make valuable contributions to the service development and should be involved in similar evaluations in future.

Protocol for a mixed-method analysis of implementation of case management in primary care for frequent users of healthcare services with chronic diseases and complex care needs.

IntroductionCase management (CM) in a primary care setting is a promising approach to integrating and improving healthcare services and outcomes for patients with chronic conditions and complex care needs who frequently use healthcare services. Despite evidence supporting CM and interest in implementing it in Canada, little is known about how to do this. This research aims to identify the barriers and facilitators to the implementation of a CM intervention in different primary care contexts (objective 1) and to explain the influence of the clinical context on the degree of implementation (objective 2) and on the outcomes of the intervention (objective 3).Methods and analysisA multiple-case embedded mixed-methods study will be conducted on CM implemented in ten primary care clinics across five Canadian provinces. Each clinic will represent a subunit of analysis, detailed through a case history. Cases will be compared and contrasted using multiple analytical approaches. Qualitative data (objectives 1 and 2) from individual semistructured interviews (n=130), focus group discussions (n=20) and participant observation of each clinic (36 hours) will be compared and integrated with quantitative (objective 3) clinical data on services use (n=300) and patient questionnaires (n=300). An evaluation of intervention fidelity will be integrated into the data analysis.Ethics and disseminationThis project received approval from the CIUSSS de l'Estrie – CHUS Research Ethic Board (project number MP-31-2019-2830). Results will provide the opportunity to refine the CM intervention and to facilitate effective evaluation, replication and scale-up. This research provides knowledge on how to resp ond to the needs of individuals with chronic conditions and complex care needs in a cost-effective way that improves patient-reported outcomes and healthcare use, while ensuring care team well-being. Dissemination of results is planned and executed based on the needs of various stakeholders involved in the research.

Team Well-being and Resilience Practices in Hospice and Palliative Care

High functioning, resilient teams do not happen by chance. Teams, similar to individuals, need to be educated, nurtured and formed over time, by a consistent vision and process. With proper team formation, the compassionate care of patients, families and colleagues can be developed, modeled and reinforced. Self-compassion is another focus to help caregivers cope with the stresses of the work and mitigate against burnout. The primary intervention which will be discussed is a regularly scheduled reflection process, e.g. 30 minutes weekly or 90 minutes monthly, with a pediatric hospice team, an inpatient palliative care team and an outpatient palliative care team. The reflection process incorporates mindful meditation, journaling, listening exercises, individual and group reflection to encourage and practice self-awareness, self-reflection, greater emotional intelligence and leadership skills. Specific tools employed include the Search Inside Yourself © Program, books by various authors, selected music, videos and personal journals. Qualitative feedback from team members, patient, family and colleague satisfaction scores has been positive. Buy-in from all team members, initially, was difficult, but over time, all team members have recognized the value of the process and have incorporated the exercises not only in their work, but in their personal lives and other roles/jobs. Other key success factors are organizational support for time for this process and individual champions to develop and lead the reflective process. The workshop will include a demonstration of exercises used in team reflections with learner participation.

Addressing bullying behaviour by patients and families.

This article explores the ethical dilemma of maintaining patient experience and care team well-being when faced with coercive behaviour, specifically bullying by patients, families and substitute decision-makers, which is directed toward providers and health support workers. We discuss some of the contributing societal and environmental factors, the ethical implications for health leaders, and suggest some practical options for managing bullying situations in hospitals.

Positively Adapting to a Changed Reality

Introduction:Following the New Zealand November 2016 earthquake, mental health staff were deployed to assist with the immediate levels of distress in the community. The work included working with individuals, couples and families, staff wellbeing sessions, psychosocial education, and participating in outreach clinics to isolated communities.Aim:Aware of international evidence and the experience following the 2010/11 earthquakes, the aim was to provide mental health assistance to address issues as early as possible with the intent that this would reduce the future demands on specialist services.Methods:Following the response phase, a small team of mental health specialists formed the Recovery and Wellbeing Team working in the affected communities undertaking clinical, consult, advisory, and educational work as needed. The team flexed and evolved to meet the changing needs. A range of data was collected and analyzed to monitor the work and the outcomes of this team.Findings:With additional support provided following the earthquake, there has been a significant positive change in the numbers of referrals to secondary mental health services in Christchurch. A new model of care has now been collaboratively developed, as the mental health system positively adapted to a changed reality. This model is essentially an easily accessed, early intervention, comprehensive model of mental health service to maintain the positive gains.Discussion:Following a significant disaster, all involved will benefit from some form of psychosocial support. For most, this will be achieved through the person’s own networks. For some, the event will trigger responses from previous traumatic experiences and a few mental health supports will be required. Having skilled professionals with the ability to cope with the constantly changing needs, and who are available to meet people at the earliest opportunity, has enabled issues to be resolved rather than leaving these issues to escalate over time.

Teamwork When Conducting Family Meetings: Concepts, Terminology, and the Importance of Team-Team Practices

Family meetings, which bring together members of a seriously ill patient's family and the interprofessional team (IPT), have been widely recognized as promoting shared decision-making for hospitalized patients, particularly those in intensive care units. The planning and conducting of interprofessional family meetings are hampered, however, by a lack of clarity about who is doing what and when, which in turn can lead to inefficiencies and uncoordinated efforts. This article describes how members of the IPT interact with one another (what we have termed team-team practices), distinguishing these interactions from how the IPT engages directly with family members (team-family practices) in preparing for and conducting family meetings. Although most research and guidelines have focused on team-family practices that directly affect patient- and family-level outcomes (e.g., safety and satisfaction), team-team practices are needed to coordinate team contributions and optimize the skills of the diverse team. Team members' knowledge and attitudes also contribute to patient and family outcomes as well as team outcomes. Yet without attention to team-team practices before, during, and after a family meeting, the family-level outcomes are less likely to be achieved as are team well-being outcomes (e.g., reduced burnout and staff retention). Drawing upon team theory, we present a set of key concepts and corresponding terms that enable a more precise description of team-team practices and team-family practices, aiming to help with team training and evaluation and to enable future research of these distinct yet inter-related practices.

“Too Good to be True? No!” Exploring Self, Incorporating a Quick and Easy Reflective Writing Exercise that Anyone Can Do (TH339)

•Identify innate qualities of Self, such as feelings, beliefs, expectations, values, and yearnings, and how they relate to how we define ourselves.•Construct a self-reflective and insightful 6-10 word phrase.•Integrate a brief mindfulness exercise into clinical practice and teaching to improve individual and team well-being, resiliency, compassion, and hope and minimize burnout and compassion fatigue. Narrative medicine is defined as clinical practice strengthened by the ability to “recognize, absorb, interpret, and honor the stories of self and other.”[1] In the form of reflective writing, it has been shown to help healthcare providers improve critical thinking, understanding of self, cultural humility, and psychological resilience, as well as to better connect with each other, their patients, and their families.[2,3,4] But reflective writing can feel intimidating or overwhelming to clinicians who have never had any formal experience or training in writing or the reflective practices. We will set the expectation for self-contemplation by reading a poem, completing a mindfulness exercise, and then examining the deeper structures of our coping stances. We will explore our feelings, beliefs, perceptions, expectations, values, and yearnings as they all make up our sense of self. Participants will engage in an innovative self-reflective writing exercise that anyone can adopt and gain insight from, whether professional writer or novice learner. It begins with pen to paper and, through a distillation process, culminates in a 6-10 word revelation. The exercise becomes one of purification, where the result is a precise truth or an unveiled discovery. [5][1]Miller E, Balmer D, Hermann N, Graham G, Charon, R. Sounding Narrative Medicine: Studying Students’ Professional Identity Development at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Acad Med 2014;89:335-342.[2]Schuessler JB, Wilder B, Byrd LW. Reflective journaling and development of cultural humility in students. Nurs Educ Perspect 2012;33:96-99.[3]Sexton JD, Pennebaker JW, Holzmueller CG, et al. Care for the cargiver: benefits of expressive writing for nurses in the United States. Prog Palliat Care 2013;17:307-312.[4]Sewell E. Journaling as a mechanism to facilitate graduate nurses’ role transition. J Nurses Staff Develop 2008;24:49-52.[5]Forner, Kristin. “Finding Meaning in Stream of Consciousness.” Mending the Fractured Story. March 2018. https://mendingthe-fracturedstory.weebly.com/blog

85 - The Pediatric Buddy Program: Cohort 3 Wellness Focus

The Pediatric Buddy Program was developed in 2014 between the Department of Pediatrics at UT Health San Antonio and their primary clinical learning partner. This program pairs pediatric nurses and interns with an overarching goal of encouraging a cooperative clinical work environment through mutually valued system improvement projects. Cohort 3 teams developed projects concentrating on WELLNESS in medicine, given the current national trends related to burnout, depression and overall physician well-being. The focus of each project is through the lens of the healthcare team well-being and how it impacts patient care and safety. Team composition varies yearly to accommodate changing nurse enrollment; however, the curricular structure of the buddy program has remained consistent: Team formation during an interactive CLER-centered orientation, protected quarterly didactics, development of a collaborative QI/SB project, completion of pre-and post-program surveys and completion of reflective journaling. The pre-and post-knowledge and exposure data, along with twelve months of reflective journaling is being analyzed to evaluate the positive impact on collaborative attitudes. Participants demonstrated attainment of system improvement knowledge by completing and submitting for review of their scholarly projects. There were four total team projects: stress and burnout management, communication styles and techniques, bullying in the workplace and time management and organizational skills. By jointly working on projects that relate to personal needs, Cohort 3 aimed to address healthcare team well-being and cooperation as a positive culture change. By offering education such as the Pediatric Buddy Program that values the importance of an interprofessional approach in medicine, a positive shift in overall resident education can occur. The completed projects serve as the programs first set of formal curricula on wellness topics. Two of the projects have continued to grow into larger more robust pathways to wellness such as a formal resident driven Wellness Committee and a multi-specialty Anti-Bully campaigns led by our Pediatric trainees.

Teamwork and collaboration in long-duration space missions: Going to extremes.

The scientific study of teamwork in the context of spaceflight has uncovered a considerable amount of knowledge over the past 20 years. Although much is known about the underlying factors and processes of teamwork, much is left to be discovered for teams who will be operating in extreme isolation and confinement during a future Mars mission. Special considerations must be made to enhance teamwork and team well-being for multi-year missions during which the small team will live and work together. We discuss the unique challenges of effective teamwork in a Mars mission scenario, and the difficulties of studying teamwork using analogs of the space environment. We then describe the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's current practices and research on teamwork, which includes team selection and composition, teamwork training, countermeasures to mitigate risks to effective team performance, and the measurement and monitoring of team functioning. We end with a discussion of the teamwork research areas that are most critical for a successful journey to Mars. (PsycINFO Database Record

Gaming science innovations to integrate health systems science into medical education and practice

Health systems science (HSS) is an emerging discipline addressing multiple, complex, interdependent variables that affect providers’ abilities to deliver patient care and influence population health. New perspectives and innovations are required as physician leaders and medical educators strive to accelerate changes in medical education and practice to meet the needs of evolving populations and systems. The purpose of this paper is to introduce gaming science as a lens to magnify HSS integration opportunities in the scope of medical education and practice. Evidence supports gaming science innovations as effective teaching and learning tools to promote learner engagement in scientific and systems thinking for decision making in complex scenarios. Valuable insights and lessons gained through the history of war games have resulted in strategic thinking to minimize risk and save lives. In health care, where decisions can affect patient and population outcomes, gaming science innovations have the potential to provide safe learning environments to practice crucial decision-making skills. Research of gaming science limitations, gaps, and strategies to maximize innovations to further advance HSS in medical education and practice is required. Gaming science holds promise to equip health care teams with HSS knowledge and skills required for transformative practice. The ultimate goals are to empower providers to work in complex systems to improve patient and population health outcomes and experiences, and to reduce costs and improve care team well-being.

Integrated Care Services for Chronic Disease – The Role a Programme Manager Plays in Making a Design a Reality

Introduction: Approximately 1 million people in Ireland today are living with Diabetes, Asthma, COPD or Cardiovascular disease. This is projected to increase by 4% annually. This represents a major challenge for the health services, society and the economy. To meet these challenges the HSE’s Clinical Strategy and Programme Health and Well-being team have designed and supported the implementation of models of Integrated Care (IC) for management of people with each of these chronic diseases. Practice change implemented: Since 2015, 61 chronic disease IC posts have been secured through the programme to support the transfer of care from secondary to primary care for people with a chronic illness. These include innovative IC nurse specialists for each of the chronic diseases based in the community and serving clusters of General Practices linking them to the local specialist services. They also include community podiatrists to implement the integrated diabetes foot care model, dietitians and physiotherapists to ensure accessible local structured education in diabetes and pulmonary rehabilitation. This represents a significant change in practice for care providers. Aim and theory of change: The aim of the programme management function was the co-ordination and facilitation of this change. In the initial phase the Programme Managers spent time developing a strategy to help ensure successful implementation of these posts. Each of the stakeholders involved were identified. Roles and responsibilities in the implementation process were agreed with the relevant Divisions. The main resistor identified was the difficulty in overcoming the challenge posed by people‘s reluctance to change. The Programme Managers recognised that in order for the changes to be realised, the vision for these posts needed to be communicated. Meetings with all clinical disciplines and management were held, the benefits of the change for each of these groups were framed to inspire and motivate them to support the implementation. The Programme Managers ensured an inclusive approach was taken as the success of the project is dependent on collaboration amongst multiple individuals and groups to achieve its goal. Targeted population and stakeholders: People with chronic illness Advocacy groups Healthcare providers Healthcare Management Timeline: This project has been ongoing since 2015. All 61 chronic disease posts will be in place by March 2017. Highlights (innovation, Impact and outcomes) Innovation: Co-design of integrated services across Clinical Programmes, National Directorates, service providers and functions Development of new governance structures for the implementation of chronic disease IC services New documentation developed e.g. job descriptions, Terms of References, reporting structure models. Impact: Reinforced the need for IC services for chronic disease Presented opportunities for engagement and knowledge sharing between stakeholders from different parts of the system where previously there was limited overlap Introduced new ways of working for Programme Managers Enhanced knowledge of the potential barriers to service integration including infrastructural challenges e.g. IT, communications, physical space, equipment. Demonstrated the importance of the National Clinical Advisor & Group Lead role in providing leadership for a co-ordinated approach to chronic disease management across these 4 diseases Outcome: Key performance indicators are currently in development which once evaluated will assist in demonstrating the effects of these posts on services Sustainability: Participation of multiple stakeholders and the shared learning gained will contribute to success. Project aligned to Government policy for IC. Transferability: Approach and learning on the design and implementation can be transferred to future initiatives by the IC Programme (ICP) for the Prevention and Management of Chronic Disease, and other ICPs. Conclusion & Discussion: Effective Programme Management is an essential element to supporting Implementation of IC. Lessons learned: Importance of an inclusive, collaborative team based leadership approach in introducing system wide change.

G94(P) Emergency department team wellbeing. how happy are we really?

Aims There is good evidence that high staff moral and satisfaction improve quality of care. The aim of this study was to assess our baseline levels of staff satisfaction within a busy Children’s Emergency Department (CED) team, to understand what the department does well and not so well and what and how could we improve. Method All staff; nursing, medical and administrative, in CED answered a brief 9 question online survey via email. This included both 1–10 rating and free text questions. Results 80 staff received the questionnaire, 38 (48%) responded. The mean ‘happiness’ rating was 6.19/10 with little difference between professions (nurses 6.6, doctors 7.0), staff rated how ‘valued’ they feel as 6.19. Staff were asked to rate the department in a number of parameters (Figure 1). The results highlighted lots of positives in the department – e.g. tea rounds, social outings, team working and communication. The main areas for improvement suggested were in the relationship and communication between medical and nursing staff. Suggested interventions included: more multidisciplinary meetings, training, and social activities, also listening without interruptions, and valuing all colleagues’ opinions. Conclusion This study has provided a number of ideas for interventions within the department to improve staff wellbeing. The anonymous feedback method allowed true reflections of staff happiness and highlighted areas for future development. Communication was particularly highlighted- e mail is used for a large amount of our interdepartmental communication and on investigation of our poor response rate it appears that staffs rarely check their hospital e mails address. Our first implementation is to improve this basic form of communication. To also implement a short simple department meeting for prior to handover thus capturing more nursing and medical staff who cannot regularly attend the department meetings. Simple service improvements were also suggested which will be considered to enhance patient care.

219. Keeping Young People Healthy, Safe and Well: A Systems Approach to Building Workforce Capacity on Youth Health

The Youth Health and Wellbeing Team within NSW Kids and Families provides state-wide leadership and guidance for the implementation of the NSW Youth Health Policy 2011-2016: healthy bodies, healthy minds, vibrant futures (the Policy). The Policy aims to improve access to quality youth-friendly health services, including building the capacity of the health workforce on adolescent health issues and the delivery of youth friendly practices. Program Purpose To enhance the training and education available to the New South Wales (NSW) health workforce on youth health issues, in order to support the delivery of accessible quality health services to young people aged 12 – 24 years. Goals of the Program: To develop a Youth Health Competency Framework, identifying the minimum competencies required by all health professionals who work with young people. To develop and implement a standardised training program based on the Youth Health Competency Framework. To develop leadership and management engagement on youth health to build top-down engagement to support learning outcomes and implementation within practice. Methods An independent scoping study was undertaken in 2014 that – Reviewed literature on youth health and education training, including evidence of effectiveness for different delivery methods Reviewed current youth health training programs, competencies, resource activities Consulted with key health agencies, health professionals and training providers Made recommendations for action to improve access to quality training in youth health. Results and Outcomes The key recommendation from the study was that a systems thinking approach should be applied to building workforce capacity on youth health. This should target action at three levels; 1. Organisational level: Example of action: Build executive sponsorship across the health system and link accountability for youth health outcomes to funding agreements. 2. Management level: Example of action: Form a Youth Health Workforce Development Committee targeting clinical and non-clinical managers to reinforce the need and importance of the youth health training strategy and ensure management support for implementing training program. 3. Individual level: Example of action: Make training available based on a minimum set of competencies and through on-line as well as face to face delivery. Due to the complexity and breadth of the target group (all health professionals), the competency framework should provide an overview of universal, core, advanced and specialist competencies. (Advanced and specialist competencies will be covered by training from specialist training providers). NSW Kids and Families is working with its key partners to implement systemic changes to the delivery of education and training on youth health across a wide spectrum of roles. The aim is to develop a system that enables evidence based content to be available through flexible formats that supports both knowledge and skills development. This presentation/poster symposia will provide an update on the progress that has been made, and outline the key achievements and challenges. It will also showcase some of the recent resources for health professionals that have been developed by NSW Kids and Families.