An Exploratory Study to Understand Staff Experiences with an Interagency Collaboration to Deliver a Crisis/Transition Intervention for People with Serious Mental Illness

Background and Purpose: Over the past 20 years, the mental health system in the U.S. has undergone significant change. To survive and remain competitive, agencies have had to adapt within a complex and ever-changing environment. Interagency collaboration, or the coming together of more than one agency to work towards a common goal, is one strategy used by organizations to thrive during this turbulent period. This evaluation research explored the perspectives and experiences of staff and leadership implementing an interagency collaboration that undergirds a crisis/transition intervention for people with serious mental illness (SMI).

Method: Fifteen participants were recruited via an email sent by the research assistant to leadership and staff members of a cross-organizational and cross-disciplinary team comprised of social workers, mental health counselors, nurse practitioners, a registered nurse, a psychiatrist, peers, and care coordinators. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted. Transcripts were transcribed and coded thematically using content analysis. Predetermined codes were developed based on Polivka’s Conceptual Framework for Community Interagency Collaboration. These codes were updated as additional themes emerged from the data.

 

Findings: Staff and leaders ranged in ages from 20 to 60 years. The sample was predominantly female (80%) and white (80%) followed by African American/Black (13%), bi-racial (6%). About 20% of the sample was Hispanic. Most participants had a Master’s degree or higher in a related field (67%), while others had Bachelor’s Degrees (27%), and one person had a GED.

Analyses revealed three thematic domains, (1) Staff integration (e.g. “I think that they feel like there is a safety net almost. ...They really do rely on one another, and I think that stems from the collaboration from the top”); (2) Interprofessional learning (e.g. “Whereas we’re all rooted in mental health, she (Nurse Practitioner) can bring a lot of medical issues and research to the table”); (3) Alignment with mission (e.g. “I think the whole objective is really to find ways to continue a high quality of life and high quality of service around developing a support system in the community”); that describe staff/leadership experiences of the interagency collaboration.

Conclusion and Implications: The findings highlight the importance of understanding how leadership and staff experience a cross-organizational collaboration. Results indicate the role leadership, co-location of staff from collaborating agencies, and constant communication had in facilitating staff cohesion and integration. Several participants expressed that utilizing an interdisciplinary team to provide comprehensive services to individuals with SMI  was not only effective for the consumer but also for personal interprofessional learning.  There was a recognition that interprofessional learning also assisted in the formation of a common language amongst all staff.