Values‐Led Coordination: Connect Coordination Victoria and the Establishment of a State‐Wide Network of Family Carer Mental Health and Wellbeing Connect Centres
Jessica Phillips, Jennifer Bite, Lisa Casaceli, Clare Fleming, Joanna Tilkeridis, Marie Piu, Melissa PetrakisABSTRACT
Background
This research sought to identify the values that underscored family carer lived experience coordination of a tailored service for family, carers, and supporters in mental health via analysis of secondary data. We analysed documents related to Connect Coordination Victoria's coordination of the newly established Mental Health and Wellbeing Connect centres (Connect centres) in our state of Australia. Our study asked: What values can be identified from documents related to Connect Coordination Victoria's family carer‐led coordination of a tailored service for family, carers, and supporters in mental health and what activities demonstrate these values in action?
Methods
We used document analysis (DA) and reflexive thematic analysis (RTA) to systematically identify, code, and analyse n = 41 documents (17,630) words) that captured the coordination activities of Connect Coordination Victoria. To identify the values Connect Coordination Victoria demonstrated, we analysed documents related to two structured Connect Coordination Victoria‐led projects which included Educational Forums, and a Mini‐Showcase event. We sourced documents using a systematic process informed by best practice for document analysis that evaluated each document according to six factors: relevance, authenticity, credibility, accuracy, representativeness, and completeness. A total of 7255 words were included for analysis in this study.
Results
Our document analysis identified ( n = 4) values guiding Connect Coordination Victoria's coordination of the Connect centres. These values were connection, responsiveness, consistency, and flexibility.
Discussion
Our analysis found that Connect Coordination Victoria's strength as a coordinating body lay first in their status as a family carer‐led coordinating body overseeing the delivery of a tailored service for family, carers, and supporters. And second, in their ability to create spaces that connected an emerging family carer workforce providing a family carer‐led service delivery model. Through identifying the core values of Connect Coordination Victoria by analysing documents related to their coordination, our research emphasised the centrality of values to the practice of the family carer lived experience workforce discipline.
Conclusion
Our research demonstrated a systematic process that coordinators of family carer lived experience workforces and family carer‐led mental health services can adopt to identify and define their practice values for leading and delivering services by family carers, for family carers.
Patient or Public Contribution
This research was developed, designed, conducted, and written by researchers with family carer lived experience. All authors hold a lived experience of caring for and/or supporting people experiencing mental health challenges.