Toggle Side Panel
Home   ›   About   ›   Core Topics

About

Core Topics in Preparing, Implementing, and Sustaining Services

Implementing mental health care practices and maintaining their effectiveness is hard. CMHIS and our bi-regional Hubs have tools and strategies to help make it easier for you to deliver the best care.

The process of implementing an effective service starts by understanding a community’s mental health needs and selecting the right program that leverages community and organizational resources. It then moves to preparing staff and resources before starting the delivery of the service and, finally, evaluating and sustaining the new program to ensure it continues to be delivered at the highest quality.

CMHIS and our bi-regional Hubs can help your organization or system improve the delivery of mental health care by supporting you in preparing, implementing, and sustaining effective prevention, treatment, and recovery programs and services.

Click on any of the eight core topics listed below to learn more about these key guideposts to implementing an effective program and the support we can provide. Not sure what help you need? We’ll meet you where you’re at, just request free support.

Preparing

Implementing

Sustaining

Engaging the community and assessing their mental health needs

Identifying factors that influence implementation

Deciding what support is needed to implement the new practice

Using clinical progress to guide treatment

Marketing programs and services

Using data to improve service delivery

Evaluating program outcomes

Sustaining service delivery

Engaging the community and assessing their mental health needs: Engaging people from the community in the design,  delivery, and evaluation of programs and practices,  along with conducting a local needs assessment is essential to understanding and addressing mental health needs, current service  offerings, and gaps. Examples of support we can provide include helping you develop a plan to engage community partners or a plan to assess the mental health needs/strengths in a community, along with mapping existing services.

Learn More

Identifying factors that influence implementation: Factors influencing implementation are things that inform, support (facilitators), or hinder (barriers) efforts to deliver effective practices and maintain them over time. Examples of support we can provide include how to select a practice that will address community mental health needs, identify factors that influence the implementation of the practice, and prioritize which barriers should be addressed.

Learn More

Deciding what support is needed to implement a new practice: Implementation strategies, such as consultation and coaching or modifying workflows, are supports, methods, or techniques used to produce or sustain practice change. These strategies are most effective when they address factors that influence implementation (barriers and facilitators) and when they fit with where you are in the implementation process. Examples of support we can provide include helping you match support strategies to barriers/facilitators, and understanding what’s working or not working about strategies you’re already providing. 

Learn More

Using clinical progress to guide treatment: Measurement-based care (MBC) takes a clinical approach using regularly collected, patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) to monitor progress and guide treatment decisions. MBC makes it possible to help clinicians and patients make informed decisions together, adjusting treatments based on real-time data to improve outcomes. Examples of support we can provide include choosing PROMs specific to your setting or services and planning how to implement and sustain MBC.

Learn More

Marketing programs and services: Communication and social marketing solutions help organizations reach their key audiences, such as individuals who may benefit from certain mental health services. Through strategic communication and marketing, organizations can deliver effective messages that engage their audiences, support practice improvements, and lead to positive mental health outcomes. Examples of support we can provide include assisting your team to identify key audiences, develop tailored messaging, and sequence and package resources to build awareness and maintain momentum.

Learn More

Using data to improve service delivery: Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) is a structured approach to quality that uses data to improve organizational systems, processes, service delivery, and outcomes. It is a form of process improvement in which an individual or team sets a goal for improvement, enacts a change, measures the effect of the change, and repeats this process until the goal is met. Examples of support we can provide include coaching and consultation to build CQI leaders’ skillsets, identify standardized tools to implement CQI principles, and provide support for prioritizing a CQI agenda.

Learn More

Evaluating program outcomes: Program evaluation is a planned, systematic process of assessing how well a program was implemented and how effective it was at accomplishing its intended purpose. This includes collecting and analyzing data related to the program’s goals, objectives, and outcomes. Program evaluation should also be tied to the community mental health needs assessment and examine whether gaps are being met. Examples of support we can provide include selecting appropriate evaluation processes, how to write impactful evaluation reports, and tools to assess the evaluability of your program.

Learn More

Sustaining service delivery involves developing strategies to continue providing a mental health service or program over time while achieving consistent, positive patient outcomes for all. Sustaining effective programs requires careful planning and continued attention to factors such as funding, partnerships, and resources. Examples of support we can provide include how to develop a sustainment action plan and identify barriers, facilitators, funding needs, and funding objectives for sustaining effective services.

Learn More