Tools for learning

Ignite passion for knowledge and learning

This resource aims to encourage, promote and enable organisational learning, research and evaluation, fostering a culture of inquiry and reflective practice.

Based on the immediate needs of the sector; Te Pou has developed an inventory of tools and links for self-directed learning.

These tools include downloadable guidelines, templates, reports, publications of interest and links to useful national and international resources. In addition, Te Pou produces a series of brief papers and factsheets summarising information on relevant mental health and addiction topics.

The tools for learning content review group, with representatives from the sector, will inform the decisions around what practical tools or areas will be most useful to the sector and how to best provide these tools. We acknowledge that learning needs differ depending on the setting, the culture of the organisation and the skill sets within teams.

Te Pou will regularly review the usefulness of the tools provided and update the site with new resources accordingly. If you know of any resource or topic that would be useful to include in the inventory, please contact keadmin "at" tepou.co.nz.

Highlights

Interesting publications

Tools and techniques - improvement leaders' guides (National Health Service, 2005). These guides include tools that assist service providers when considering service improvements to respond to needs of service users with co-existing problems.
Journal of Mental Health, 19(4), 2010. This issue provides a range of free articles related to the development of the DSM-5 manual.
The Ministry of Health publication Te Ariari o te Oranga: The assessment and management of people with co-existing mental health and substance use problems 2010 (Todd, 2010) provides a clinical framework to assist health professionals working with co-existing substance use and mental health problems.
Te Pou produced Talking Therapies for Older Adults (Te Pou, 2010) which has a clinical focus, but may also be useful for non-government organisations and other agencies working alongside older adults.
Reporting of suicide in New Zealand media - a content analysis by Dr Brian McKenna (Auckland Uniservices Ltd), Katey Thom, Gareth Edwards, Dr Raymond Nairn, Anthony O'Brien and Ingrid Leary. This study provides important information about the way suicide is portrayed in the New Zealand media. This information is useful to those working in both suicide prevention and the news media.
Talking Therapies for Pasifika Peoples: Best and promosing practice guide for mental health and addiction services (Te Pou, 2010). This guide provides information for people working in and using mental health and addiction services. It has a clinical focus, but may also be useful for non-government organisations and other agencies working alongside Pasifika families.

Research events and funding announcements

Building better intervention logics, faster. Dr Paul Duignan is running workshops in Wellington during September 2010. The workshops will be useful to those working in evaluation, public sector strategic planning and shared outcomes work. Visit the Parker Duignan website for more information.
The Australasian Evaluation Society Conference will be held in Wellington early September 2010. Registrations are now open for the conference and pre-conference workshops.

Using and exploring the web

Health Manager is a Research Review website for New Zealand health providers. Its free to subscribe regular bulletin service provides summaries of most notable studies, with comments from local experts. A useful resource for New Zealand health providers to keep up with what is published around the world.
Carers NZ presents a useful resource library and a recently published study by Diane Jorgensen et. al, entitled The New Zealand informal caregivers and their unmet needs (PDF 232kb).
The results-based accountability model by Dr Mark Friedman offers a fresh perspective on measuring performance. Its framework helps identify what a social services provider does well, where it could improve and how its work contributes to improving outcomes. The Results-Based Accountability website links to a range of useful resources and free webinars.
A range of mental health resources have been translated into 20 languages and are available to order from Multicultural Mental Health Australia. Resources and publications - catalogue and order form PDF (1.1mb).
This new online community for anyone interested in self management support is now open to everyone as a place to join in discussions, share ideas, experiences, resources and projects relating to self management, e-learning, chronic care and quality improvement.
National Health Service (NHS) Evidence Specialist Collections presents updated information and links to resources relevant to particular health related problems (i.e. ethnicity and health, mental health).
Diversit-e is new online magazine published by the Australian Diversity Health Institute. This free quarterly journal includes both scholarly articles and news articles on the latest programs, initiatives, projects, policy and resources in multicultural health. It provides a forum for discussing and highlighting health matters of interest to Australia's culturally and linguistically diverse community as well as innovative practices, research and services across Australia.

For more information

Contact Anita Langthaller.

Page last updated: 18 August 2010