Shift Review Panel publish independent reviews of two new employment resources
24 June 2010
The Shift Review Panel assesses the quality and impact of materials designed to help employers promote mental wellbeing and manage mental ill health in the workplace. The panel is funded by Shift, but operates independently.
You can download the full review of the resource for all employees here
And download the full review of the resource for managers here
Find out more about the Shift Review Panel.
Shift Videocast 16: Rachael talks about employment
07 June 2010
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Shift Videocast 15: Tim tells his story
09 April 2010
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Shift's 'Attitudes to Mental Illness 2010' research report published
31 March 2010
Since March 1994, the Department of Health has placed a set of questions on TNS’s Face-to-Face Consumer Omnibus about public attitudes towards mental illness. From 1994 to 1997 the questions were asked on an annual basis and then every third year up until 2003.
Since 2007 Shift has carried out the survey annually. The surveys serve as a benchmark, enabling measurement of whether attitudes are improving or worsening over time. The questionnaire included a number of statements about mental illness. Respondents were asked to indicate how much they agreed or disagreed with each statement.
Key points from the report:
- People are broadly sympathetic towards people with a mental illness.
- However, some attitudes towards people with mental illness are worse compared to when the Department of Health first commissioned the poll in 1994 whilst a number have improved. Several attitudes that had worsened over the period up until 1997 have since improved.
- Attitudes to a number of statements have changed between 2009 and 2010.
- Opinions on some statements changed towards
greater tolerance, for example:
‘Locating mental health facilities in a residential area downgrades the neighbourhood’ - agreement with this statement decreased from 21% to 18%. - Some opinions moved more in favour of integrating people with mental illness into the community, for example: ‘Residents have nothing to fear from people coming into their neighbourhood to obtain mental health services’ – agreement with this statement increased from 62% to 66%.
- On one item though, opinions moved less in favour of integration: ‘Mental hospitals are an outdated means of treating people with mental illness’ – agreement with this statement fell from 37% in 2009 to 33% in 2010.
Find out more about research commissioned by Shift.
Download the full 2010 report from the Department of Health website
See our Research page for links to the full versions of previous attitude surveys
Shift Videocast 14: Kate's poems about attitudes towards anorexia and mental illness
23 March 2010
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Ethnicity and use of the Mental Health Act conference
15 March 2010
The conference is taking place in London on 24 May and speakers include Melba Wilson, National Director of our partner organisation the National Equalities in Mental Health Programme.
More information about the event, including a flyer and booking forms, can be found here. Read More...
Shift Videocast 13: Nick talks about breaking down 'us and them' attitudes
12 March 2010
In this video, Nick talks about the breaking down of 'us and them' attitudes.
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Shift Videocast 12: Rachael talks about depression
26 February 2010
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Shift Update: February 2010
03 February 2010
Click the "Read More..." link below to read this Shift
Update newsletter.
If you would like to be sent our Shift Update newsletter by email, send a blank message to: shift-update+subscribe@googlegroups.com. Read More...
If you would like to be sent our Shift Update newsletter by email, send a blank message to: shift-update+subscribe@googlegroups.com. Read More...
Shift Review Panel publish independent review of MHF's What Works For You booklet
28 January 2010
The Shift Review Panel assesses the quality and impact of materials designed to help employers promote mental wellbeing and manage mental ill health in the workplace. The panel is funded by Shift, but operates independently.
- explains simple steps people at work can take to support a colleague who is experiencing a mental health problem. It is easy-to-read and engaging and the advice is practical and relevant.
- It includes a short explanation about mental health, and more detail about some common mental health problems.
- There is practical advice about how to talk to someone, listening tips, responding in a crisis and keeping in touch when someone is off sick with a mental health problem.
- The brief section about what you can do as a manager provides some practical guidance on how to deal with someone they think has a mental health problem. It would be helpful to acknowledge in this section that there is much more that you need to do as a manager to support mental health and wellbeing in the workplace.
- Overall, the booklet could provide a useful part of an organisations’ mental health management programme, but would probably need to be tailored to each organisation – for example, procedures around reasonable adjustments and Occupational Health advice would differ; and the image on the front would need to be less ‘industrial’ for some organisations. The resource should be made more generic, or alternatively targeted more specifically.
- The leaflet could be useful as a stand-alone item
to help ensure people experiencing mental health
problems get valuable support from their colleagues.
You can download the full review of What Works for You? here
Visit the What Works for You? page on the MHF website
Find out more about the Shift Review Panel here