Innovation
Inter-professional World café on mental health (May 2012-May 2013)
This was a participatory action research project involving 3rd year social work and mental health nursing students, and local service users. Together they created a learning and teaching event about mental health, as one in four people will experience a mental health problem (Mind, 2012). Utilising a World café approach, this enabled participants to engage in round table discussions, and to learn from each others’ perspectives. I led this as project co-ordinator, after successfully applying for funding under the Higher Education Academy’s (HEA) Teaching Development grant scheme.
Students and service users were involved in planning and organising the event and had the opportunity to participate in accompanying research activities, which encouraged development of their research awareness, skills and knowledge. Inter-professional education in health and social care is a priority for improving team-working and communication (Priest et al 2008). Currently nursing and social work students have limited opportunities to learn together, and as they will work together in professional practice settings, a good understanding of each other’s roles is essential.
The project involved facilitating students and service users to work together from the beginning as they discussed topics in the classroom prior to the event. This included material they wanted to include at the World café and suggested learning outcomes.
The World café event was held on 9 November 2012, with 84 3rd year students, 14 service users and carers and 4 voluntary sector staff attending. A café menu was used, with questions for discussion as ‘Starters’, ‘Main course’ and ‘Dessert’. The day also featured a Question Time type panel, with audience participation. Throughout the day students and users and carers moved around tables to discuss mental health issues. A variety of learning activities were utilised, including icebreakers, discussion of video clips and artwork, in order to cover a range of learning styles particular to individual students (Fleming and Mills, 1992).
I have selected this example as an innovative teaching and learning activity, because it was grant funded by the Higher Education Academy, demonstrated how large numbers of people can be involved in a participatory action research project, and received excellent feedback by all those who attended. It also gave me the opportunity to utilise a wide range of skills as the project co-ordinator, which has assisted in my own personal and professional development.
What prompted innovation?
- A successful Teaching Development Grant funded by the Higher Education Academy, which was the impetus to form a steering group with participating students, service users and academic staff from the outset.
- Also, there had been no previous collaborations or inter-professional educational initiatives between nursing and social work programmes in the College, and as students will work together in practice both an understanding of each others’ roles, and increased knowledge about the service users’ perspective was sought.
- The idea for the world café arose from my findings from a travel scholarship exploring best practices in user involvement (Terry, 2013), when I attended a similar event at University of Salford in July 2011, and read the team’s subsequent publications (McAndrew et al, 2011).
What makes innovation different?
- Although inter-professional educational initiatives are on the agenda, there are few examples in the literature focusing on mental health.
- It was a different approach to involve students and service user colleagues from the beginning of an educational project, as creators of their own learning situation. As they had increased ownership and were fully involved from the ideas and steering group stage, they all had great enthusiasm for the project.
Changes in practice
Impacts were captured on the day through evaluation forms completed by each table group:
What has had most impact on you?
- going into services that were under-funded and under-resourced
- lack of involvement in care plans and service users
- discussion was good
- service users account of treatment and services
- meeting and speaking to service users
- listening to experiences
- peer mentoring impact
- service user experiences and recommendations
- having my say
- how mental health has impacted on people’s lives
- the stigma section
- women on the panel speaking for Swansea about how service users aren’t involved in writing their own care plans
- professionals views – both totally different, yet similar in some ways
- gap in putting theory into practice and implementation of policy/legislation
What will you do as a result?
- more involvement of service users in care plans
- learn new ways of working
- press for change
- work collaboratively with social workers in future
- mindfulness
- become a champion
- recommend users for peer mentoring
- involve users more in participation processes
- be mindful that when in practice to treat the person not just the symptoms
- speak to other students about it
- involve service users each time I write a care plan to gain their views and their perspective of their needs
- think more collaboratively
- discuss learning with other professionals
- contact other professions and learn about different roles (education and practice)
Impact
Difference the project has made to my own work: This is my first successful bid, and I have learnt an enormous amount about the variety of skills and knowledge required in leading a large teaching and learning event.
I reflected on my learning and included part of this in my application for Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (HEA), which I was awarded in March 2013. The project has increased my connections with the HEA, and I shall look out for further opportunities to work with the academy.
Difference to the department and institution: it raised awareness of this type of teaching and learning method, as the world café has been much talked about. I invited senior managers to the event, with many attending to show support, and to discover what this method was like in practice, resulting in many positive comments. Following a presentation of the project, a continuing professional development event is being held in July 2013 for students, mentors and local Health Board managers in the style of a World café, at the request of our Head of College.
Attitudes of stakeholders: after the World café event, the following comments are examples of feedback from individual students and staff:
I wanted to say how much I enjoyed yesterday and how valuable I have found this experience. One thing which has struck me throughout is that every persons’ thoughts, ideas and contributions have been warmly received and valued – Student mental health nurse
Thank you for inviting us to participate in the world cafe event, I got a lot from it and thoroughly enjoyed networking with everyone. The experience has definitely helped to broaden my awareness & knowledge of mental help & I have no doubt it will compliment my practice greatly – Social work student
I’d second the various messages that have been circulated about what an excellent event this was. As someone observing from outside the professions involved, but with a keen interest in this approach to teaching, it was fantastic to observe the energy and engagement in the room over such an extended period of time – External evaluator
Attitudes of wider community: service users and carers highlighted how they were keen to be involved in other teaching and learning events, saw the value of inter-professional learning, and felt their own confidence increased as a result of involvement in the project.
Dissemination
I was invited by the HEA to present the project at a development seminar for prospective applicants for this year’s Teaching and Development grant bid in Cardiff in January 2013, which gave the opportunity to share early findings with HE colleagues in South Wales and neighbouring areas.
This participatory project has delivered the following outputs to date:
- SALT Case Study: Inter-professional World café on mental health. The Swansea Academy of Learning and Teaching (SALT) have been involved with the project from the outset, with the Director acting as external evaluator. As planned the project now appears as a case study on the SALT website, which enables others to view details about the project, related literature and evaluations:
- http://swansealearninglab.pbworks.com
- The plasma screens in the College of Human and Health Sciences regularly feature successful events and College achievements. The world café continues to be a feature on the screens to the present day.
The following conference presentations are planned:
- June 2013 Excellence in Learning and Teaching Conference – Swansea University (presentation)
- June 2013 Health & Social Care, Higher Academy Conference – Leeds (poster)
- Sept 2013 International Network for Psychiatric Research Conference – Warwick (presentation & poster)
- Sept 2013 International Reflective Conference – Swansea (presentation)