VA Mental Health Systems Redesign Initiative

Purpose

The purpose of this project is to conduct a retrospective analysis of the VA Mental Health System Redesign initiative to assess attributes associated with the likelihood that change will be sustained.

The Need

Change that is not sustained is a direct waste of resources expended in the change process and also has important indirect costs related to missed opportunities and damage to an organization's ability to implement change in the future. In 2008, VA Mental Health Service Lines at the clinic, facility, and VISN levels embarked on an ambitious effort of system redesign (SR). With the help of special, centrally-directed funding for the support of IHI-based, state-of-the-art change implementation techniques, well over one hundred SR projects aimed at a variety of worthy MH goals have been implemented. However, it is less clear how the sustainability of these SR ventures is being measured or supported over time. And it appears to be a very critical time to put these sustainability measures in place and to develop supports that are necessary for sustained improvement. It is likely that VACO-OMHS support for these SR changes will diminish soon and that support for all mental health initiatives will be placed back into the general VERA funding mechanism for all VA clinical care.

Aims

• Document aims and impact of the Mental Health System Redesign Projects within the VA
• Retrospectively test how well the British National Health Services Sustainability Index predicts the likelihood that the Mental Health System Redesign Project was sustained
• Identify through qualitative interviews facilitators and barriers to sustaining change within the VA

To learn more about the project...

click here to download the grant proposal.