Impact of Ed-LinQ: A Public Policy Strategy to Facilitate Engagement between Schools and the Mental Health Care System in Queensland, Australia

Ed-LinQ is a mental health policy initiative to enhance the early detection and treatment of children with mental illness by improving the liaison between schools and health services in Queensland, Australia. We measured its impact from policy to practice to inform further program developments and public strategies. We followed a mixed quantitative/qualitative approach. The Adoption Impact Ladder (AIL) was used to analyse the adoption of this initiative by end-users (decision makers both in the health and education sectors) and the penetration of the initiative in the school sector. Survey respondents included representatives of schools (n = 186) and mental health providers (n = 78). In total, 63% of the school representative respondents were at least aware of the existence of the Ed-LinQ initiative, 74% were satisfied with the initiative and 28% of the respondent schools adopted the initiative to a significant extent. Adoption was higher in urban districts and in the health sector. The overall level of penetration in the school sector of Queensland was low (3%). The qualitative analysis indicated an improvement in the referral and communication processes between schools and the health sectors and the importance of funding in the implementation of the initiative. Mapping of existing programs is needed to assess the implementation of a new one as well as the design of different implementation strategies for urban and rural areas. Assessing the adoption of health policy strategies and their penetration in a target audience is critical to understand their proportional impacts across a defined ecosystem and constitutes a necessary preliminary step for the evaluation of their quality and efficiency.

[Impact assessment of a multisectoral plan for the promotion of health and social wellbeing in Andalusia (Spain)]

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the impact of the Plan for the promotion of personal autonomy and prevention of disability in Andalusia (2016-2020) in 13 public administrations during the first year of its implementation; and to analyse the usability and feasibility of the impact assessment ladder used.

METHOD

The Plan addresses the promotion of personal autonomy and the prevention of disabilities and dependencies through a multisectoral approach. It is structured in strands or lines of work, objectives and actions that have been assessed through the Adoption Impact Ladder (AIL). The analysis of the face validity, feasibility and inter-rater reliability of the impact assessment ladder was carried out in 30 actions of the Plan that were rated by 20 experts from the 13 ministries and public agencies involved in the Plan, and an external rater.

RESULTS

176 actions and programmes were launched in 2017. Of these, 67.2% were implemented during the first year. Only one of the 16 objectives had no action initiated during the first year. Moreover, 7 out of 15 objectives implemented were fully multisectoral involving more than three Regional Ministries. The face validity, feasibility and inter-rater reliability of the AIL were good (κ: 0.72).

CONCLUSIONS

This Plan has provided a novel framework to coordinate a broad range of proposed policies and actions within the public administration of Andalusia. For the first time, a multisectoral impact analysis has been conducted providing an effective guide for monitoring, planning and setting public priorities in health, social services, ageing and disabilities.