publications.- project reports archive
This page contains a list of older SDC project reports, prior to 2008. If you would like a copy of any of these reports please e-mail sdc@sdcmh.org.uk
For more up to date publications, please see our publications home page.
project reports 2007
project reports 2006
project reports 2005
project reports 2004
project reports 2003
project reports 2002
project reports 2001
project reports 2007
resource paper for community health
partnerships:
promoting mental health,
preventing common mental health problems
November 2007
This paper is intended as a resource for Community Health Partnerships
(CHPs) to enhance understanding of mental health promotion and prevention at primary
care level; assist CHPs in developing a local mental health promotion and prevention
agenda; and identify practical steps for CHPs to improve the mental health and wellbeing
of their local populations. The paper also provides pointers for improving responses and
supports for those with identified mental health problems / mental illness and their family
members and carers.
developing social prescribing and
community referrals for
mental health in Scotland
November 2007
This report, commissioned by the Scottish Government’s National Programme for
Improving Mental Health and Wellbeing, considers the case for using non-medical
interventions, sometimes called community referrals or social
prescribing, to improve mental health. It is intended primarily as a resource for
colleagues working in primary health care, Community Health Partnerships and
Community Planning Partnerships, although it will also be of interest to
community and voluntary sector organisations and those working in sports,
leisure, arts and education.
Social prescribing is a valuable complement.
net gains: shaping the future of childrens' mental health
August 2007
This report provides a summary of an event held in Glasgow in 2007 facilitated by SDC and Young Minds. Topics covered include capacity building within
four lifespan contexts:
infants, primary,
secondary and
transitions to
adulthood, and creative ways of working with rural and urban communities.
restart for recovery
2006 - 2007
Restart is an Edinburgh based employability project that aims to promote recovery for people with mental health problems through supporting them into work. It is managed by Forth Sector and works in partnership with NHS Lothian and others. In 2006 SDC was funded through the Scottish Executive's Small Research Projects Initiative to undertake an evaluation of the Restart project.
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project reports 2006
bringing generations together: community well-being in West Lothian: lessons from MOOD
In 2004, the National Programme for Improving Mental Health and Wellbeing provided two year funding to support a range of Community Wellbeing Exemplar Projects. SDC was commissioned to provide practice development and evaluation for these projects. One of the projects, MOOD works with people who are over 55 who are at risk of developing depression and / or other mental health problems. This paper explores the intergenerational work of MOOD to identify its impact on community well-being in West Lothian.
development of peer specialists roles: A literature scoping exercise
As part of the Delivery Plan process the Scottish Recovery Network commissioned SDC to lead a scoping exercise to help SRN better understand the opportunities and challenges of creating a new type of peer specialist worker. The scoping exercise included a literature review which looked at existing models of formalised peer support from within and out with mental health services, both here and abroad. This paper has been published on the SRN website, and is available to anyone interested in learning more about this approach to providing recovery oriented services.
edinburgh connect evaluation
Edinburgh Connect is a mental health service for looked after and accommodated children which aims to promote and enhance the mental health of this group. SDC was commissioned to undertake an independent evaluation of the team, the report of which has now been published.
national evaluation of Choose Life (phase one)
Choose Life is Scotland's Suicide Prevention Strategy and Action Plan. A two year independent evaluation was commissioned by the Scottish Executive in 2004 to examine the progress of Choose Life in developing a sustainable infrastructure, to measure and review progress towards key milestones during its initial phase (2003-2006), and to make detailed and staged recommendations to guide the next phase of the action plan. The evaluation was conducted by a consortium of researchers, including SDC. The final report of the evaluation has recently been published and is available via the Scottish Government's website at the links below:
Download full report
Download research findings
national evaluation of Doing Well By People With Depression Programme
The Doing Well By People With Depression Programme was a three year initiative managed by the Centre for Change and Innovation, designed to build capacity at different levels within local service systems to respond to depression and to enhance access to sources of support.
The national evaluation of Doing Well, led by SDC and the University of Edinburgh, is available on the Scottish Government website.
The mental health of children and young people: a framework for promotion, prevention and care - A report on the Framework Implementation Support Initiative for HeadsUpScotland.
This report explores joint work by The Scottish Development Centre and YoungMinds. This project team worked with and through local structures for service planning and development, bringing their considerable experience and knowledge about mental health policy and practice and an understanding of the challenges faced by local partners in moving forward. This provided local areas with an opportunity to make progress in addressing key national priorities for children and young people as well as to feed into the development of the draft Framework. This report contains examples of case studies and practical solutions.
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project reports 2005
written on the body: a review of literature on self-cutting
Funded by the Camelot Foundation as part of the National Inquiry into Self Harm Among Young People, the remit for this review was to identify and review UK published and 'grey' literature focusing on self-cutting among young people. The three core aims of the review were to inform an understanding of;
- patterns of prevalence and incidence of self-cutting among young people
- the risk and protective factors associated with self-cutting
- preventative and therapeutic interventions
equal minds: addressing mental health inequalities in Scotland
This working paper builds on the 2003 Equal Minds conference held by the Scottish Development Centre. Funded by the National Programme for Mental Health and Well Being, the paper develops the discussions held at the conference, brings together further evidence for mental health inequality in Scotland and explores implications for policy and practice.
The report is available via the Scottish Government website.
consulting children & young people on their views of the people who help them at difficult times
This report was commissioned by NHS Education Scotland as part of a wider consultation on the children and young peoples mental health framework. It covers the views of children under 14 years on the people that help them in times of difficulty and what qualities make them helpful.
consulting children & young people who have been admitted to child & adolescent inpatient mental health units
In 2004, the Scottish Development Centre (SDC) was commissioned by the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland to consult young people about their experiences of in-patient admission. The consultation aimed:
- To consult children, young people, practitioners and family members on their experience of the young people being admitted to in-patient units
- To work with them to develop good practice guidelines for children and young people who may be voluntarily or compulsorily admitted
- To consider how to link their views into the ongoing process of re-designing child and adolescent mental health services.
mental health improvement: an appraisal of Scottish policy
In 2004 NHS Health Scotland commissioned RUHBC, University of Glasgow and SDC to undertake a review of Scottish policy with respect to mental health improvement.This project involved mapping out the key policy areas in Scotland, gathering key policy documents from these areas to identify references to mental health improvement and assessing the degreee to which current policy and the research evidence are aligned. Interviews were also conducted with key policy makers from six Scottish Government departments.
evidence to practice - a guide to whole systems change in the management of depression in primary care
This document is intended as a guide to help service leaders, such as clincians and managers in the Doing Well By People with Depression sites and beyond, reflect on their current strategies, in the context of lessons that have already been learned from previous service developments and innovations in the management of depression.
mental health improvement evidence & practice: evaluation guides and case studies
SDC was commissioned by NHS Health Scotland to produce a set of four evaluation guides to support the evaluation of mental health improvement initiatives. In parallel to this work, SDC also developed 22 case study examples of evidence based practice in mental health improvement in Scotland.
Guide 1: Evidence Based Practice
Guide 2: Measuring Success
Guide 3: Getting Results
Guide 4: Making an impact
Mental Health Improvement Evidence Based Case Studies
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project reports 2004
suicide & suicidal behaviour: establishing the territories for a series of research reviews
SDC and Edinburgh University's Research Unit in Health, Behaviour and Change were commissioned by the Scottish Government to:
- Co-ordinate information about the interests and areas of expertise of organisations and individuals specialising in suicide-related research
- Establish the territory and focus of the series of reviews, with reference to: information on prevalence; risk and protective factors; and the effectiveness of specific preventive interventions.
the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000: learning from experience
This report presents findings from a project examining the operation of Parts 2, 3 and 6 of the Act, which explored implementation, usage levels and people's experiences of using the legislations.
on the borderline? people with learning disabilities and/or autistic spectrum disorders in secure, forensic & other specialist settings
This report looks at the numbers of people with learning disabilities in prison or secure accommodation and the arrangements for assessing and providing them with care. The evidence from the study suggests that children, young people and adults with learning disabilities and/or ASD could find themselves on the ‘borderline’ not just in terms of the ways in which their capacities and abilities are defined, but in policy and service terms. As a result they may be perceived as not fitting in with what providers see as the core business of the different secure environments. Some people, particularly women and people with ASD may be doubly on the margins.
evaluation of local authority health improvement officers
SDC has undertook an evaluation of local authority Health improvement posts, commissioned by COSLA. This tracked the development of the posts and gathered case study material to evidence the impact and achievement of the posts and the key factors that facilitated and impeded their effectiveness.
evidence into practice mental health improvement workshops
SDC designed and delivered 15 workshops, one in each health board area, in 2003. The one-day workshops set out to:
- introduce participants to evidence based mental health improvement
- develop participants’ knowledge and skills to apply what is known about evidenceof effectiveness in mental health improvement in their own areas
- explore what might be required to support and sustain evidence based practice and service development locally.
An evaluation of this workshop series has been carried out in 2004 in order to evaluation the extent that the training was able to impact on practice.
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project reports 2003
Scottish Needs Assessment Programme - Report on Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Consultation with children, young people and parents
May 2003, Julia White, Associate Consultant
employee perspectives on mental health in the workplace
This research report was produced by the Scottish Development Centre and published by NHS Health Scotland in 2003. The study examines employees' perspectives of mental health in the workplace. The aim of the research is to inform the development of the mental health agenda in Scottish workplaces.
mental health officer services: structures & supports
This research report was published in September 2003 by the Scottish Executive (as part of the Social Research Series). The survey was commissioned to improve understanding of the models of Mental Health Officer (MHO) service provision in operation across Scotland, and to investigate local authorities' readiness to respond to the demands of new legislation. The aim of the research is to assist the development of National Service Standards for Mental Health Officer Services by the Executive.
developing collective advocacy for people who have long-term contact with health or social services.
developing collective advocacy for people who fall within the remit of the new mental health (Scotland) bill
These reports were produced by the Scottish Development Centre and published in Autumn 2003 by the Scottish Human Services Trust. The purpose of the first report was to map, in two geographical areas, the range of groups whose role includes, or potentially includes, collective advocacy. It also identifies the issues currently faced by groups in promoting the interests of members and achieving involvement and influence, and highlights key areas for development that would be required to enhance capacity for collective advocacy.
The second report maps existing collective advocacy groups in Scotland for people with mental health problems, those with learning disabilities, people with dementia or aquired brain injury. It also describes the issues currently faced by collective advocacy groups and opportunities presented by the new legislation.
building community well-being: an exploration themes & issues
This report was published by the Scottish Executive, and was prepared by the Scottish Development Centre for Mental Health in association with Scottish Council Foundation and OPM. The report is concerned with the mental health and well-being of communities, what this means to communities themselves, and what people working and living in communities feel has the biggest influences on their well-being and mental health.
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project reports 2002
with health in mind
This discussion document has been prepared and published by the Scottish Mental Health Alliance:
- Scottish Development Centre for Mental Health
- Scottish Council Foundation
- The Research Unit in Health, Behaviour and Change, University of Edinburgh
- Mental Health Foundation, Scottish Office
The report was designed to aid further reflection and debate on the meaning and importance of mental health and wellbeing in society. A major intended outcome is the development of a shared understanding among a wide range of individuals, groups and organisations, leading to greater support for measures which will improve mental health and wellbeing in Scotland. It is also hoped that this discussion document will contribute to debate and action at UK and international levels.
preventing suicide & deliberate self harm
The Draft Framework for the Prevention of Suicide and Deliberate Self Harm in Scotland was issued for consultation by the Scottish Executive Health Department in October 2001. During the period of formal consultation on the draft Framework, the Scottish Executive commissioned the Scottish Development Centre for Mental Health to undertake two interlinked pieces of work. These were designed to feed into continuing policy development and to act as a resource to inform subsequent implementation, by exploring in more detail key areas of concern in relation to suicide and deliberate self harm reduction and the promotion of mental health and well being.
The two pieces of work comprised:
- a series of discussions with groups and services directly affected by suicide and self harm issues and with the media
- the collection of material on practice examples that illustrate the range of activity that is already taking place, using a variety of different approaches, working with different client groups
project reports 2001
allies in change route map
Part One Introduction and Guide to Using the Route Map
Part Two Influencing Your Personal Care and Support
Part Three Influencing Organisations that Provide Care and Support
Part Four Influencing the Planning of Mental Health Services
As part of the Allies in Change Programme, the Scottish Development Centre worked on a Route Map to User and Carer Participation. This Map acts as a guide for local organisations and local networks. It enables them to look at how far they have come in enabling service users and carers to participate in different aspects of mental health services. It considers involvement and participation in service planning and development; in the way services are provided on a day-to-day basis and in providing individual care and support. A series of good practice pointers are also provided to indicate ways in which organisations can enhance what they are currently doing to involve people.
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