RAMHP QUARTERLY UPDATEJANUARY – MARCH 2019

RAMHP Quarterly Update Report, January – March 2019

RAMHP Quarterly Update Report: January – March 2019

This report is intended to provide an update for our key stakeholders on the work being undertaken by the Rural Adversity Mental Health Program

(RAMHP). It is intended that this report will be emailed to key stakeholders and also available on the Program’s website and that of the Centre for

Rural and Remote Mental Health. Please email comments or questions to: tessa.caton@newcastle.edu.au.

Table of Contents

Section Page Number

General RAMHP Program Updates 3

Data Considerations 13

RAMHP Updates by Program Component 14

LINK 14

TRAIN 19

INFORM 21

| 2

General RAMHP Program Updates

The Rural Adversity Mental Health Program – Tessa Caton

RAMHP Program Updates

• Supporting communities affected by the intensifying drought

remains a strong priority for RAMHP Coordinators. Support has

included:

• Planning and attending social event for families

• Extensively training Water NSW staff (27 courses to be

delivered)

• Attending various multi-agency roadshows

• Assisting with the integration of Drought Support Workers or

Farming Family Counsellors across Murrumbidgee, HNE and

Western LHDs

• Two fires in Tabulam and Tingha had a significant impact on those

communities. RAMHP Coordinators Steve Carrigg, Sam Osborne

and Letitia Cross all responded swiftly

• The last Baggy Blues & RAMHP Rural Mental Health Cricket Tour

was completed in Bega. An evaluation of the tour is currently

underway

• Piloting of Workplace Support Skills training for Rabobank continues.

This will inform the development of a tailored version of the course for

Rabobank, and potential nation-wide rollout

• RAMHP was able to welcome media personality, Gus Worland as

our first RAMHP Ambassador. Gus not only brings a high profile, but

a true passion for men’s mental health

• Dubbo RAMHP Coordinator, Camilla Kenny was recognised highly

for her leadership and contribution to her local community by being

nominated for NSW Young Woman of the Year

• All RAMHPs training resources were re-vamped with the latest

statistics and information about mental health

Recruitment Updates

• RAMHP welcomed a number of new Coordinators, including:

• Alison Tye based in Nowra

• Matt Milne based in Tamworth; and

• Sonia Cox based in Lithgow

• Nowra Position, advertised and interviews completed

• Interviews were also held for RAMHP Coordinator positions in

Mudgee and Orange

• A slight restructure of the CRRMH based RAMHP team has

occurred, with two new positions established:

• RAMHP Strategic Projects Manager

• RAMHP Communications Coordinator

Report 1 Highlights

• 450 People Linked to Care

between Jan – Mar 2019

• 66 Training Courses were

delivered to 1,432 participants

between Jan – Mar 2019

• 95 Community Events were

attended by RAMHP Coordinators

between Jan – Mar 2019

General RAMHP

Program UpdatesData Considerations

RAMHP Updates by

Program ComponentLINK TRAIN INFORM

| 3

General RAMHP Program Updates

RAMHP Communication Highlights– Jocelyn Johnston

The Communications team hit the ground running in 2019 with the

development of some new resources and the roll out of some key

initiatives including a new Ambassador Program for RAMHP. Our first

Ambassador is television and radio personality Gus Worland. We will be

promoting this exciting announcement shortly across all our

communication channels.

RAMHP eNewsletters

RAMHP released one eNewsletter during this period. Our February

eNewsletter, 'Let's Talk' about seeing your GP was delivered to 489

recipients and had almost a 50% open rate. Click here to view.

New Video Resources

RAMHP released two new videos in February. "Managing Stress" was

designed for individuals and rural communities while "Understanding

Drought-related Stress" was designed for health professionals.

The videos are available on our website and YouTube, with a total of

157 views of our "Managing Stress" video and 90 views of our

"Understanding Drought-related Stress" videos on YouTube.

Click here to view our "Managing Stress" video and click here to view

our "Understanding Drought-related Stress" video.

Website

During this quarter the RAMHP website received 3,613 website sessions

(+11%) The average website session was 2:38 mins.

The top 5 pages were as follows:

1. Homepage – 2,364 views

2. Downloadable Resources – 452 views

3. About Us – 388 views

4. About Us: Meet the Team – 387 views

5. Find a RAMHP Coordinator – 361 views

General RAMHP

Program UpdatesData Considerations

RAMHP Updates by

Program ComponentLINK TRAIN INFORM

| 4

General RAMHP Program Updates

Media Highlights

During the first quarter in 2019, various RAMHP Coordinators and the

RAMHP Manager were interviewed about current issues and key

initiatives. Key topics included the Baggy Blues Tour with RAMHP, the

ongoing drought and impact on mental wellbeing, the Tabulam fires,

Camilla and Di being nominated for awards and the UNICEF report on how

drought is affecting kids.

This quarter also saw the team respond to various media requests

including from the Washington Post, the Weekly Times (Qld), Mind Food

Magazine, the Wellcome Trust Magazine (UK) and the ABC.

The team also worked with RAMHP Coordinator Judy Carmody to develop

content for a regular monthly column in the Yass Tribune. The first one was

published on 26 March.

•Managing stress during drought by RAMHP Coordinator Judy

Carmody

Regular columns focussing on mental health issues will appear on the last

Wednesday of each month.

Some examples of key media activity are presented in Table 1 on the

following page. Please note this is a sample only. The full list can be seen

in Appendix A of the CRRMH Quarterly Report.

General RAMHP

Program UpdatesData Considerations

RAMHP Updates by

Program ComponentLINK TRAIN INFORM

| 5

General RAMHP Program Updates

General RAMHP

Program UpdatesData Considerations

RAMHP Updates by

Program ComponentLINK TRAIN INFORM

Date Media Outlet Topic Spokesperson Link

21.10.2019 WIN news NSW Young Woman of the

Year Finalist and RAMHP

RAMHP Coordinator

Camilla Kenny

https://www.facebook.com/WINNe

wsCentralWest/videos/293536921

354388/UzpfSTI5NDE1NDE5NzQ

0NzgxNToxMDIwMTQ5ODMxNTE

0OTEx/

30.1.2019 ABC NSW Country

Hour

Drought, heat and mental

health

RAMHP Coordinator Di Gill https://www.abc.net.au/radio/progr

ams/nsw-country-hour/nsw-

country-

hour/10744580?fbclid=IwAR3zMR

DBxSDY-ajSzqpi6wiYa_r7-

UF1PoX-

60dEMUB7WWh69yDcpTlYT_I

5.02.2019 Far West LHD

Monthly Newsletter

Acknowledgement of

RAMHP work around

drought in the district, and

Pooncarie v Anabranch

cricket match for men's

mental health

RAMHP Coordinator Marie

Kelly

No link

| 6

Table 1: Overview of Media Interactions (note this is a sample

only)

General RAMHP Program Updates

General RAMHP

Program UpdatesData Considerations

RAMHP Updates by

Program ComponentLINK TRAIN INFORM

Date Media Outlet Topic Spokesperson Link

8.02.2019 Bega District News Sydney Thunder members to play

Twenty20 match in Bega with

mental health focus

RAMHP

Coordinator Jen

Keioskie

https://www.begadistrictnews.

com.au/story/5894497/sydney

-thunder-members-to-play-

twenty20-match-in-bega-with-

mental-health-focus/

18.02.2019 ABC Mildura Men’s Mental Health Cricket game RAMHP

Coordinator Marie

Kelly

No link

18.02.2019 ABC South East Rainbow Waves Festival RAMHP

Coordinator

Jennie Keioskie

No link

20.02.2019 Northern NSW LHD

website

Mental health support for fire

affected communities

RAMHP

Coordinator Steve

Carrigg

https://nnswlhd.health.nsw.go

v.au/blog/2019/02/20/mental-

health-support-for-fire-

affected-

communities/?fbclid=IwAR02

MXJjYqUuL0psArfShBHbcW

BzvNFeCChRVAmtAfNATUs

3DDqOM63T0ps

| 7

Table 1: Overview of Media Interactions (continued)

General RAMHP Program Updates

General RAMHP

Program UpdatesData Considerations

RAMHP Updates by

Program ComponentLINK TRAIN INFORM

Date Media Outlet Topic Spokesperson Link

20.02.2019 Mirage News Allianz helps bat the

blues in rural and

regional Australia

RAMHP – Baggy Blues

project

https://www.miragenews.com/a

llianz-helps-bat-the-blues-in-

rural-and-regional-australia/

21.02.2019 Echo NetDaily Mental health support

for fire affected

communities

RAMHP Coordinator Steve

Carrigg

https://www.echo.net.au/2019/

02/mental-health-support-fire-

affected-communities/

26.03.2019 The Weekly Times (Qld) Free holiday for drought-

impacted farmers

RAMHP Program Manager

Tessa Caton quoted

https://www.weeklytimesnow.c

om.au/news/rural-

weekly/livestock/outback-

family-in-drought-gifted-a-free-

holiday/news-

story/8dafae6a3ab0427fe7947

a5bbcae1d55?fbclid=IwAR05X

ycMYVtQl6vbTpkg5o4KWV9K

3xWpnBJoePJORXwKcAiyavc

k902ALPo&memtype=anonym

ous

26.03.2019 Yass Tribune Managing stress during

drought by Judy

Carmody

RAMHP Coordinator Judy

Carmody

https://www.yasstribune.com.a

u/story/5974320/managing-

stress-during-drought/

| 8

Table 1: Overview of Media Interactions (continued)

General RAMHP Program Updates

General RAMHP

Program UpdatesData Considerations

RAMHP Updates by

Program ComponentLINK TRAIN INFORM

| 9

General RAMHP Program Updates

RAMHP Social Media – Ashleigh Middleton

The following table provides an overview of the key statistics for

RAMHP’s Facebook page.

Table 2: Overview of RAMHP’s Facebook Page Statistics, Jan. –

Mar. 2018

General RAMHP

Program UpdatesData Considerations

RAMHP Updates by

Program ComponentLINK TRAIN INFORM

Statistic Impact

165 new likes were achieved during this period, bringing the total

number of likes to 1,326

• Number of likes increased by 14.2%

Post Publishing this quarter was 76 • This quarter featured a number of posts advertising the new

Coordinator positions for Orange and Mudgee, along with

the Communications Coordinator position

• The new video 'Managing Stress' was distributed through

RAMHPs social media channels this quarter

Engagement with posts:

− Reactions 1,660

− Comments 202

− Shares 407

− Link Clicks 820

• Total engagements were down 31.4%

• Posts that attracted high engagement included the

announcement of Camilla Kenny's nomination for Young

Women of the Year, the release of UNICEF's report of

drought on children, and Marie Kelly's involvement in

the "Blue Tree Project".

| 10

General RAMHP Program Updates

RAMHP Social Media – Ashleigh Middleton

The following table provides an overview of the key statistics for

RAMHP’s Twitter page.

Table 3: Overview of RAMHP’s Twitter Statistics, Jan. – Mar. 2018

General RAMHP

Program UpdatesData Considerations

RAMHP Updates by

Program ComponentLINK TRAIN INFORM

Statistic Impact

17 new followers were achieved during this period, bring the total

number to 452

• RAMHP’s Twitter audience continues to increase

Post Publishing this quarter was 19 during this period • Publishing frequency decreased by 73% this quarter

19 Tweets during this period:

− @mentions 30

− Replies 3

− Retweets 29

− Tweet Likes 59

− Retweet with comment 9

• Engagement has decreased by 47% this quarter.

| 11

Overview of Social Media Jan – Mar 2018

‘Managing Stress’ video

Social media was used to promote the newly created ‘Managing

Stress’ video for medical practices and health care facilities.

Employment opportunities

Advertising of new RAMHP Coordinator positions continued for

positions located in Mudgee and Orange.

A paid campaign advertising the RAMHP Communications

Coordinator position was also rolled out during this quarter.

Gus Worland ambassador announcement

Social media was used to give followers a ‘sneak peek’ of new

program ambassador, Triple M presenter Gus Worland.

Baggy Blues Cricket Tour

The final leg of the Baggy Blues Cricket tour held in Bega was

promoted during February.

General RAMHP Program Updates

General RAMHP

Program UpdatesData Considerations

RAMHP Updates by

Program ComponentLINK TRAIN INFORM

| 12

Data Considerations

This Report 1 represents the first period of data collected using the

RAMHP App in 2019. There are a number of considerations which must

be taken into account when interpreting the results of this Report. These

include:

• Annual leave taken by RAMHP Coordinators during the reporting

period may impact on their data presented in the Report.

• The correctness of data from the RAMHP App relies on the accurate

data entry of the RAMHP Coordinators.

General RAMHP

Program Updates

Data

Considerations

RAMHP Updates by

Program ComponentLINK TRAIN INFORM

| 13

How Many People Were Linked?

• From January – March 2019, 450 people were linked to mental

health support services or resources by RAMHP Coordinators.

• The majority of links (n= 310, 69%) were people seeking

assistance for themselves.

General RAMHP

Program UpdatesData Considerations

RAMHP Updates by

Program ComponentLINK TRAIN INFORM

| 14

Chart 1: Number of Links Jul. 2018 – Mar. 2019, by Linkage

Type

724573

310

279

151

140

Jul - Sep 2018 Oct - Dec 2018 Jan - Mar 2019

Nu

mb

er

of

Lin

ks

Quarter

Linked someone to services/resources to help someone else

Linked someone to services/resources for themselves

How Did Linking Take Place?

General RAMHP

Program UpdatesData Considerations

RAMHP Updates by

Program ComponentLINK TRAIN INFORM

• During January – March 2019, the largest number of links took

place when RAMHP Coordinators attended community events

(n=72, 28%) or provided advice to another professional

(n=61, 24%).

• A considerable proportion of linkages also occurred as a result of

providing training (n=42, 16%), despite fewer training courses

being delivered during this quarter.

| 15

Note: (n=259). 191 cases were not included as they were group links i.e. when a

number of people are linked at the same time for a specific issue.

Chart 2: Proportion of Links Jan. – Mar. 2019, by Method of Linkage

28%

16%

24%

13%

8%

1%

10%

I met them at a community event or meeting

They attended training I delivered

I provided linking advice to a professional in my partnerships/networks

Through phone or email contact

The ‘person in need’ works for a service in my partnerships/networks

The ‘person in need’ was referred from another service

Other

What Symptoms Or Issues Were RAMHP Coordinators Assisting With?

General RAMHP

Program UpdatesData Considerations

RAMHP Updates by

Program ComponentLINK TRAIN INFORM

• The 10 most common issues or symptoms RAMHP Coordinators

assisted with are presented above. More than one issue or symptom

can be selected for each person linked (N=1,553).

• The most common issue or symptom was stress (n=368, 24%).

• The issue drought (n=183, 12%) was added to the RAMHP App in

August 2018, and was the second most common issue or symptom

RAMHP Coordinators assisted with this quarter.

• Other types of disasters or adverse events (n=91, 6%)

also entered the top 10 this quarter.

| 16

Chart 3: The Ten Most Frequent Symptoms Identified when Linking, Jan. – Mar. 2019

368

183

156

149

100

91

79

73

68

54

Stress

Drought

Change in behaviour

Work or financial concerns

Relationship concerns

Disaster or adverse event

Symptoms of an emerging mental health disorder

Pre-existing mental health disorder

Grief and loss

Physical health concerns

Number of Times a Symptom is Selected

What Support Or Resources Were Suggested by RAMHP Coordinators?

General RAMHP

Program UpdatesData Considerations

RAMHP Updates by

Program ComponentLINK TRAIN INFORM

• RAMHP Coordinators usually provide more than one type of

support or resource when they link (N=1,906).

• The most common support or resources provided by RAMHP

Coordinators were the recommendation to visit a GP (n=276,

14%), practical strategies (n=247, 13%) and printed

information (n=201, 11%).

• Farmgate was added as an option to the RAMHP App in

December 2018. This will assist with collecting data on the

utilisation and activity of LHD Farmgate Counsellors (now

referred to as Drought Support Workers or Farming Family

Counsellors) funded under the NSW Government Drought

Package. There were 47 (2%) links to Farmgate Counsellors

this quarter.

| 17

Chart 4: Number of Times a Type of Support or Resource was Suggested, Jan. – Mar. 2019

276

247

201

142

139

138

131

112

68

66

64

56

47

37

27

25

25

23

23

21

12

10

9

5

2

GP

I provided strategies

Printed information

Other mental health telephone support service

Website information, online therapy or e-mental health

Private specialist

MH Line or Accessline

Rural assistance services

Emergency services

Material or financial assistance service

CMHT

Social support group

Farmgate

Youth services

Social worker

Employment support services

Family or relationship service

Non-Gov MH Team

Education support services

Carer support service

Other

Alcohol or Other Drug Service

Legal aid

Housing assistance service

Child protection services

Number of Times a Suggestion was Given

Coordinators’ Stories From Those We Help

General RAMHP

Program UpdatesData Considerations

RAMHP Updates by

Program ComponentLINK TRAIN INFORM

A man who attended one of my

training courses said he is

concerned about his neighbour

who is a refugee. He believes the

neighbour is very socially isolated

and struggling financially. I

suggested contact with Social

Justice Advocates.

I spoke with a mother of four, who is

homeless as a result of fire. They lost all their

possessions including their home. The

mother was concerned about the impact of

the trauma on her teenage children. I linked

her to practical assistance, provided brief

psychological support and connected them

with disaster relief services.

I was contacted by the RSPCA concerned

about removal of a significant number of dogs.

The owner is elderly, vulnerable and has a

history of mental illness. I provided support to

the RSPCA, and organised services to be

available to support the owner during removal.

I also arranged for mental health services to

follow up with the owner.

The organiser of event celebrating LGBTIQ

community was feeling overwhelmed with

organising the event as well as unintended

consequences of speaking openly about

growing up gay in the local area. They were

aware of lots of negative messages on social

media. The person has a lot of supports but I

encouraged them to get advice from ACON

both personally and professionally.

A Rural Financial Counsellor expressed

concerns for a number of clients who are

experiencing high levels of stress. I explained the

various clinical services and referral options, plus

how to have the conversation with the

individuals, including use of RAMHP resources to

facilitate the discussion. A service worker at a Recovery

Centre was distressed due to

decisions made around evacuation

processes and concern for family

members directly impacted by fires.

I provided brief psychological

support and encouraged them to

access EAP, their GP and put in

place self-care strategies.

| 18

How Much Training Was Delivered?

• From January – March 2019, 66 training courses were

delivered by RAMHP Coordinators.

• The most common training courses delivered were Workplace

Support Skills (n=22, 33%), Tailored Training (n=17, 26%) and

Mental Health First Aid (n=17, 26%).

• RAMHP Coordinators delivered training to 1,432 participants this

quarter.

• On average each course contained 22 participants.

General RAMHP

Program UpdatesData Considerations

RAMHP Updates by

Program ComponentLINK TRAIN INFORM

| 19

Chart 5: Number of Training Courses Delivered, by Course Type,

Jul. 2018 – Mar. 2019Chart 6: Number of Training Participants, Jul. 2018 – Mar. 2019

10 83

20

11 22

40

39

3117

21

23

17

17

4

5

3

10

6

1

122

88

66

Jul-Sep 2018 Oct-Dec 2018 Jan-Mar 2019

Nu

mb

er

of

Trai

nin

g C

ou

rse

s

Quarter

CSS WSS HISS TT MHFA W&Y VW GTD Total

2,906

1,927

1,432

Jul-Sep 2018 Oct-Dec 2018 Jan-Mar 2019

Num

ber

of

Tra

inin

g P

art

icip

ants

Total number of training participants across all training courses

Who Did RAMHP Coordinators Train?

• Training courses were predominantly comprised of

government or council employees (n=10, 15%) and

community groups or organisations (n=10, 15%).

• RAMHP has been delivering training to Water NSW staff

across Western NSW, Far West, Murrumbidgee and

Hunter New England.

General RAMHP

Program UpdatesData Considerations

RAMHP Updates by

Program ComponentLINK TRAIN INFORM

Examples of Organisations Trained

• Red Cross

• Water NSW

• Men’s Shed NSW

• Narrabri Community College

• Compass Housing

• Cowra Disability Services

• Oyster Coast Australia

• Pearl's Place

• Charles Sturt University

• NSW Carers Respite

• Byron Bay Council Executive

| 20

Chart 7: Number of Training Courses, Audience Type, Jan. – Mar. 2019

1

1

1

1

1

1

2

2

3

3

3

3

4

6

7

7

10

10

Police or emergency services

Aboriginal

Carers

Housing

Youth

Heavy industry

Other

Other Private Business

Disability

Education

Mixed welfare services

Mental health

Sports

Physical health (eg medical)

Primary industry

General Community Members

Community group or organisation

Other government or council

Number of Training Courses

Au

die

nce

Typ

e

What Audiences Were Reached Through Community Events?

• RAMHP Coordinators attended a large number of farming (n=40,

42%) and general community (n=36, 38%) events.

• Many drought-related events continue to take place across NSW.

Examples of drought-related events attended by RAMHP

Coordinators included the Federal Government Drought Assistance

Roadshow, Drought Convoy, Bowls Day for Drought Affected

Families in Lake Cargelligo and Pilliga Community Drought Meeting.

General RAMHP

Program UpdatesData Considerations

RAMHP Updates by

Program ComponentLINK TRAIN INFORM

| 21

Chart 8: Coordinator Attendance at Community Events, by Audience

Type, Jan. – Mar. 2019

1

2

3

3

3

3

4

36

40

Fire affected communities

Aboriginal

Service Providers

Women

Men

Youth

Education

General community

Farming

Coordinator Attendance at Community Events

Au

die

nc

e T

yp

e

If you have any questions regarding the content of this Report, please contact:

Tessa Caton

Program Manager, RAMHP

Ph: 0484 339 996

Email: tessa.caton@newcastle.edu.au