4858 Mental Health Report - National University of Ireland, Galway

Collaborative Practice and Policy
Respondents were asked what they felt were the key learning points from the
projects described in the Phase 1 report. 26 respondents answered this question.
Over half felt that one of the key learning points was the exchange of ideas and
good practice. Many felt that there was a greater need for planning and coordination
at the organisational level and that attention needed to be given to
the mechanisms of cross-border working such as relationships, time, funding and
evaluation. A few respondents said that this project indicated that mental health
promotion activities are now being focused upon to a greater extent.
Respondents were also asked what they felt were the most important aims of
cross-border collaboration. Respondents felt that the sharing of ideas, expertise,
resources and best practice was very important. Also many felt that this type of
working helped to avoid duplication, improved the service to clients and resulted
in an optimum use of resources.
Respondents were asked to give their opinion on the benefits of cross-border
working by indicating how much they agreed with each item where 1=strongly
agree, 2=agree, 3=uncertain, 4=disagree, and 5=strongly disagree. Responses
were collapsed into agree, uncertain or disagree. The results are presented in
Table 2 below:
Table 2: Benefits of Cross-border Working
Benefits of Cross-border Working % Agree % Disagree % Uncertain
Exchange of ideas and experiences 100 0 0
(n=41) (n=0) (n=0)
Broadening of networks 100 0 0
(n=41) (n=0) (n=0)
Stimulate new thinking 94.9 0 5.1
(n=37) (n=0) (n=2)
Greater understanding of differences in 85 2.5 12.5
structures North and South (n=34) (n=1) (n=5)
Greater understanding of differences in 77.5 2.5 20
cultures North and South (n=31) (n=1) (n=8)
Sharing of resources 66.8 5.0 28.2
(n=26) (n=2) (n=11)
Access to additional funding 78.0 2.5 19.5
(n=32) (n=1) (n=8)
Identifying best practice 87.8 2.4 9.8
(n=36) (n=1) (n=4)
From Table 2 we see that the most popular benefits to cross border
working were the exchange of ideas and experiences and the
broadening of networks. All the benefits mentioned were given
the support of the majority of the respondents with the least
popular being sharing of resources, with 66.8% (n=26)
agreeing that this was of benefit.
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