The research examines the implementation of the Targeted Mental Health in Schools [TaMHS] pathfinder (2008-2011) into 16 primary schools in a county in the UK. TaMHS was introduced as a national pathfinder in 2008 inviting local authorities and health care trusts to work together to devise school based approaches to support children and young people with emerging mental health concerns. The local authority in the research devised an approach which included two innovative features; a collaborative service delivery involving a dedicated Primary Mental Health Worker, and the creation of a school based change champion role appointed from within the staff (the Mental Health lead - MHl) who led the implementation in school. The main objective was to investigate the pathfinder in terms of three main research questions; what constituted the main barriers and facilitators to implementation, the efficacy of the collaborative approach, and the implications of adopting a champion role based in schools. The research is located within organisational change theory and implementation literature and adopted a critical realist ontology which focused on revealing mechanisms of change in terms of structure and agency. Empirically it is based on 16 semi structured interviews with MHls analysed through thematic analysis and attribution coding. Findings reveal a set of six themes which represented mechanisms underpinning the barriers and facilitators to implementation; mental health in a school context, the training and support model, embedding new practices in established school systems, the implications of adopting a whole school approach, the change champion role, and the collaborative delivery model. The thesis concludes with implications for practice relevant to a range of professional groups related to the planning and delivery of school based intervention design, the adoption of a champion role, and the practical importance of a property integrated whole school approach. It supports the adoption of a critical realist approach to project design and the evaluation of initiative based implementation in schools and equivalent settings.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:601180 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Murphy, Stephen |
| Publisher | University of Bristol |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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