It’s been more than a year since 65 changes were rolled out across Victoria to improve how mental healthcare is provided.
But how effective have they been? Social Work Honours student, Sanjana Chandra, is on the case.
Sanjana has set her research sights on the efficacy of the Mental Health and Wellbeing reforms made by the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System.
The 65 recommendations made by the Royal Commission were rolled out across Victoria in a 10-year plan to improve the State’s provision of mental healthcare.
Honours research student, Sanjana Chandra.
“I aim to explore the impact of the key achievements from the Victorian mental health and wellbeing reforms in relation to community-based model of care. My study will focus on how the reforms have improved the use of the community-based model of care, the efficacy of community treatment orders and explore the concepts of clients’ rights, legal capacity, and choice of treatment,” says Sanjana.
Growing up in Fiji and now based in Melbourne, Sanjana originally comes from a finance background but found her passion for healthcare after joining Monash Health in 2016.
“After being exposed to mental health work at Monash Health, I wanted to study social work and become an advocate for promoting human rights with a focus on assisting people to improve their personal and social wellbeing through therapeutic interventions and counselling,” she says.
“This topic is of interest to me as I work in the mental health community model of care and want to explore how the recent reforms have impacted the clients within the community-based model of care.
What’s exciting about this study is that it provides a chance to explore the efficacy of the recent mental health and wellbeing reforms in Victoria through the perspectives of mental healthcare practitioners.
By ascertaining these views, Sanjana aims to explore their effectiveness within community-based models of care.
“My hope is that this study will enhance research data regarding the impact of the new mental health and wellbeing reforms and help improve services for mental health patients in the community,” says Sanjana.
The Honours study will be entirely undertaken by Sanjana with the supervision of Dr Stuart Robertson from the School of Health at the University of New England (UNE).
Honours student, Sanjana Chandra with supervisor, Dr Stuart Robertson.
“UNE prioritises the mental health and wellbeing of its students, which is why I feel honoured to be a student here. The social work profession places an emphasis on self-care, so conducting this study at UNE is a good fit,” says Sanjana.
Sanjana hopes to complete the study by the end of 2023 and finish the participant selection process and interview by end of August.
If you, or someone you know, meet the criteria and would like the opportunity to participate in this study, please register now.
