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Key survey evaluation findings 2017–2022

The ongoing evaluation of the National Workforce Centre is reported annually to the Australia Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. A snapshot of 2017–2022 is shared below, demonstrating key findings.

  • Practitioners who complete courses improve their knowledge

    Across the range of online courses, users demonstrate an average of 18% increase in the knowledge, confidence and skills pre- to post-completion of a course.

    The extent to which Emerging Minds online courses are meeting their learning objectives is measured by asking users to complete a few questions about the course material before and after completing the course. Evaluation analysis showed the increases following course completion resulted were statistically significant and of high impact.

Learning from Emerging Minds courses is sustained over time

Around 40% of users agree to be a part of our evaluation by completing a workforce development questionnaire every three months to monitor the impact of their learning over time.

Data from the three-monthly workforce development questionnaire suggest there are statistically significant advances in knowledge, confidence, competence and practice around child mental health in those engaging with the National Workforce Centre.

Workforce questionnaire total scores from the first questionnaire (on day 0) to the ninth questionnaire (at 27 months)

See accessible data from Figure 3. Workforce questionnaire total scores from the first questionnaire (on day 0) to the ninth questionnaire (at 27 months)

Figure 3. Workforce questionnaire total scores from the first questionnaire (on day 0) to the ninth questionnaire (at 27 months)

Figure 3 note: Participants who answered ‘not applicable’ for all or part of the questionnaire were systematically removed to avoid confounding the mean calculated for single items or the total for the six item scale. Results for each time point may not be from the same participants. Items were rated on a seven point scale where 1 = strongly disagree and 7 = strongly agree.

 

As at 2022, the workforce development questionnaire comprises seven questions around knowledge, confidence, skills and practice (items). Each question showed improvement after engagement, and that improvement was stable and maintained over time, without regression, while a few of the questions showed further increases in the second year. Increases in confidence to identify at-risk children and to talk to parents about their children’s mental health were seen in the first three months and continued to grow two years after first engagement. While measuring practice is more difficult, the workforce development questionnaire measures an increase in practitioners reporting regular practice of talking to parents about the impact of mental health on parenting, and this continues to grow at two years of engagement. Improvements were seen in all professional groups but an early shift in knowledge, confidence and skills was most pronounced for clinical health professionals and tertiary students.

You can join the evaluation when first registering for Emerging Minds Learning, or register your interest in participating in future research projects.

 

Emerging Minds Learning is being accessed across Australia

Evaluation of Emerging Minds Learning in 2021 showed National Workforce Centre registered users represent a wide geographical reach across Australia and vulnerable communities.

The highest proportion of professionals work in Victoria and NSW, followed by South Australia and Queensland. The greatest representation of professionals from regional or remote areas by state or territory was the Northern Territory (98.2%), followed by Tasmania (21.6%), Queensland (18.4%) and Western Australia (18.0%). For each state and territory there were users from across a wide range of socioeconomic conditions, as described by the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ SEIFA Index for Relative Socioeconomic Disadvantage.

Remoteness classification of registration from postcode, as a proportion of registrations from each state

See accessible data from Figure 4. Remoteness classification of registration from postcode, as a proportion of registrations from each state

Figure 4. Remoteness classification of registration from postcode, as a proportion of registrations from each state

Figure 4 note: Registration data as at 30 June 2021.

  • Engagement with Emerging Minds continues to grow

    Emerging Minds audience continues to grow with increasing numbers of new users registering and new course completions each period.

    There was a particular extreme spike in users registering and engaging with Emerging Minds in 2020 during the peak of COVID-19 restrictions.

Emerging Minds users show greater competence in child mental health knowledge and practice than those not engaged with Emerging Minds

Emerging Minds’ inaugural National Workforce Survey for Parent, Family and Child Mental Health showed that workers who had actively engaged with National Workforce Centre resources rated their capabilities significantly higher than those who were aware of Emerging Minds but not yet engaged, and those who had never heard of Emerging Minds before.

The survey asked workers in Australia to rate their capabilities in understanding and responding to children’s mental health. Workers who engaged with Emerging Minds rated their capability around 15–20% higher than those who had never heard of Emerging Minds, across six domains of child mental health competency.

Differences in mean scores on child mental health workforce capabilities by exposure to Emerging Minds resources

See accessible data from Figure 5. Differences in mean scores on child mental health workforce capabilities by exposure to Emerging Minds resources

Figure 5. Differences in mean scores on child mental health workforce capabilities by exposure to Emerging Minds resources

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