Vertaistoiminnan muodot ja merkitys päihde- ja mielenterveysjärjestöissä

Artikkelissa tarkastellaan vertaistoimintaa päihde- ja mielenterveysjärjestöissä. Tutkimusaineisto koostuu kahdesta kyselystä. Ensimmäisessä kartoitettiin paikallisten päihde- ja mielenterveysyhdistysten (n=187) ja valtakunnallisten järjestöjen (n=28) johtajien käsityksiä vertaisuuden merkityksestä niiden toiminnassa sekä niissä tuotettavia vertaistoiminnan muotoja. Täydentävää aineistoa kerättiin järjestöjen työntekijöille (n=61) ja vertaisille (n=75) kohdistetulla kyselyllä, jossa tarkasteltiin vertaistoiminnan merkitystä, siihen liittyviä tehtäviä, vertaisten roolia ja asemaa sekä heihin kohdistuvia tukitoimenpiteitä ja tuen tarvetta.Vertaistoiminnalla oli keskeinen merkitys päihde- ja mielenterveysjärjestökentällä. Sen painoarvo kuitenkin vaihteli. Vertaistoiminnan merkitys oli suurempi ja siihen liittyviä toimintamuotoja oli enemmän suurilla toiminta-alueilla toimivissa yhdistyksissä. Sen painoarvo korostui etenkin ennen vuotta 1986 perustetuissa yhdistyksissä.Vertaisten rooli ja tehtävät hahmottuivat hieman eri tavoin työntekijöiden ja vertaisten itsensä näkökulmasta.Työntekijät korostivat vertaisten roolia järjestöjen asiakastyössä ja konkreettisessa auttamis- ja tukitoiminnassa, kun taas vertaiset itse näkivät roolinsa laajemmin myös järjestön ulkosuhteissa ja yhteiskunnallisina vaikuttajina. Aineiston vertaisista kolmannes oli kokenut uupumusta tai väsymystä toimiessaan vertaisena. Järjestöissä on tärkeää taata sekä vertaisten oman orientaation huomioiminen toiminnan suunnittelussa ja kehittämisessä että tarvittavat resurssit vertaisten tukemiseen. AbstractThe forms and importance of peer support in substance abuse and mental health organizations The study examines peer support in substance abuse and mental health organizations. The study is based on two sets of data. Information on the importance and forms of peer support provided was collected by a questionnaire sent to local (n=187) and national (n=28) non-governmental organizations in the fields of substance abuse and mental health, addressed to the CEO or chairman of the board. Supplementary data on the roles and tasks of peers as well as their need for support in their own work was collected by a questionnaire sent to the personnel (n=61) and peers (n=75) in these organizations. Peer support had a central role in both substance abuse and mental health organizations but it differed in different kinds of organizations. Peer support had a stronger emphasis and was more common in organizations operating in larger cities. Also, organizations founded especially before year 1986 had a stronger element of peer support in them compared to younger organizations. The peers’ roles and tasks were perceived somewhat differently by the personnel and the peers themselves. The personnel emphasized the peers’ role in the organization’s customer work and practical help and support related tasks, whereas the peers themselves perceived their role more broadly, including in the organizations’ external relations and in advocacy work. Every third of the peers who answered the questionnaire had experienced fatigue or exhaustion in their work as a peer. The results highlight the need to consider the peer workers’ own orientation and expectations in planning peer support in substance and mental health organizations, as well as the need to provide sufficient resources for supporting the peers’ well-being and coping skills in their work. Keywords: peer, peer support, NGO, substance abuse organizations, mental health organizations

Managerial adaptability and business strategic change in age of COVID-19

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the consequential impact of COVID-19 on mental health organizations. Via the context organizational development (OD) action research of an organizational case analysis, this paper offers recommendations to mental health organizations on an approach to help recover from the financial losses caused by COVID-19 restrictions and to also help ensure that mental health specialists are provided with sufficient support so they may continue to provide meaningful service to clients in need of therapeutic care and assistance. Design/methodology/approach The approach is an action research case study that uses an OD framework and a content analysis of the current literature. Findings The real-world case study uses an action research OD intervention to provide tools and recommendations that other similar organizations might be able to use to respond to COVID-19. The findings implicate practices and approaches that organizations can use to adapt to business and marketplace disruption of COVID-19. Originality/value COVID-19 is an emerging issue, as a result any research and development in this area is of significant value to researchers and professionals.

Competition Among Mental Health Organizations: Environmental Drivers and Strategic Responses

While mental health system reforms have sought to leverage competition in the private sector to improve service quality and costs, competition among mental health organizations is poorly understood. To inform future studies about the impact of policy and system reforms on mental health organizations and service delivery, this qualitative study explores (1) resources for which organizations compete most intensively, (2) drivers of competition, and (3) leaders’ strategic organizational responses. Semi-structured phone interviews were conducted with 15 organizational leaders (CEO’s, executive directors) representing about 22% of organizations in the regional mental health market. Interviews covered leaders’ perceptions about competition, and their strategic responses. Porter’s seminal framework on competition was used to interpret codes and themes. Intensive competition for personnel was driven by workforce shortages, new for-profit organizations, and alternative employment opportunities. In response, organizations have attended to wages/benefits, recruitment, and retention. However, strong community need, expanded insurance coverage, and a history of local strategic responses that created service niches appeared to have minimized competition for financial resources in the region. Competition for funding and clients was expected to intensify under systems reform, and in anticipation, organizations were expanding services. Leaders also feared for the viability of smaller organizations in highly competitive environments. Consistent with theory on competition, mental health organizations compete and respond in ways that might improve services. However, the goals of privatization may have been unrealized because of minimal competition for funding and clients, and intense competition may undermine quality.

Using Twitter to promote a youth mental health agenda

Agenda-setting theory suggests the media shapes public perceptions. Guided by this theory, this study examines the effects of organizational Twitter accounts on public discourse in the Twittersphere. The tweets that mention one of three youth mental health organizations were theorized to emanate the particular focus of the organization mentioned. This was investigated by analysing: randomly selected tweets that mentioned one of three national mental health organizations—ReachOut, headspace or the Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre but not authored by these organizations (n = 600); and the population of tweets that mentioned one of these three organizations and authored by either of the two counterparts of the mentioned organization (n = 115). Findings supported anticipated patterns, whereby the tweets reflected the remit of the three organizations. These findings reveal the influential role of social media in setting a youth mental health agenda. The implications for practitioners and researchers are discussed.

Implementing co-production in mental health organizations

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study four cases of the adoption of co-production and compare them according to the type of user involvement, contextual factors and the organizational structure. Design/methodology/approach In total, 30 interviews were conducted in four mental health organizations which are implementing co-production in the North of Italy. Interviews were conducted with clinicians, nurses, patients and family members. The data collected was triangulated with further sources and official documents of organizations. The results have been compared by means of a validated international framework (IAP2) regarding the contextual factors and the level of co-production adopted. Findings The adoption of co-production in the four cases differs by the activities implemented and how organizations involve informal actors. It seems to be influenced by the contextual factors specific to each organization: power, professionals’ opinions and leadership. Organizations whose practitioners and leaders are willing to distribute their power and value informal actors’ opinions seem to facilitate the systematic involvement of users. Overall, the results highlight the importance of considering contextual factors when evaluating and describing co-production activities. Originality/value This paper contributes to describing how mental health organizations are implementing co-production. It examines the influence of contextual factors on the type of co-production adopted.