John Mendoza

John Mendoza
ConNetica · Executive

About

96
Publications
22,762
Reads
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959
Citations
Introduction
Social and economic inequalities and mental health problems and suicide
Additional affiliations
January 2010 - present
The University of Sydney
Position
  • Faculty Member
Description
  • Teaching and collaboration on research

Publications

Publications (96)
Research
Full-text available
This Report and the Best Practice Framework for engaging marginalised young people comes at a time when Australia is clutching at straws; implementing a range of increasingly punitive measures that do nothing to address the drivers of youth crime and too few investments in initiatives that enable marginalised young people to overcome their early li...
Technical Report
Full-text available
The purpose of this best practice framework is to outline the range of service attributes that improve the relevance and quality of service provision for marginalised young people, including those with experiences of mental health problems, alcohol and other drug (AOD) abuse. It is envisaged that this framework can be used to: • guide service des...
Article
Full-text available
Urbanisation presents specific mental health challenges, requiring a better understanding of service availability in urban areas for mental health care planning. Our objective is to analyse patterns of urban mental healthcare provision in Australia, and compare these with relevant national and international regions to inform urban mental healthcare...
Article
Standard description of local care provision is essential for evidence-informed planning. This study aimed to map and compare the availability and diversity of current mental health service provision for children and adolescents in Australia. We used a standardised service classification instrument, the Description and Evaluation of Services and Di...
Article
Full-text available
Background: The right to the highest attainable standard of mental health remains a distant goal worldwide. The Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the right of all people to enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health pleaded the urgent need for governments to act through appropriate laws and policies. We argue t...
Data
PROGRAM OVERVIEW Conversations for life (C4L) shifts the dial from late stage suicide intervention to early suicide prevention. This program aims to avert crises. C4L provides learners with the information, skills and confidence to be READY, WILLING and ABLE to have early conversations with people who are vulnerable or starting to withdraw. People...
Presentation
Full-text available
This presentation addresses there key issues: 1. Some of what we know about the impact of the pandemic on mental health 2. The state of mental health services in Australia and Victoria - Before the pandemic - Review by the Productivity Commission - The Victorian Royal Commission 3. How can the predictable and extended demand for services be met &...
Article
Full-text available
Ed-LinQ is a mental health policy initiative to enhance the early detection and treatment of children with mental illness by improving the liaison between schools and health services in Queensland, Australia. We measured its impact from policy to practice to inform further program developments and public strategies. We followed a mixed quantitative...
Article
Objective: Variation exists in the patterns of alcohol and other drug (AOD) use and related impacts across geographic locations and over time. Understanding the existing AOD service system and the local context that it operates within is fundamental to optimize service provision. This article describes and compares the availability, placement capa...
Article
Full-text available
Introduction: Remote areas hold specific local and structural conditions that affect care availability and access, such as geography, population characteristics and service provision. Care in these areas is frequently scarce and fragmented and difficult to compare with other areas even in the same country. This study aims to analyse the adult menta...
Article
Full-text available
Australia has a population of around 4 million people aged 65 years and over, many of whom are at risk of developing cognitive decline, mental illness, and/or psychological problems associated with physical illnesses. The aim of this study was to describe the pattern of specialised mental healthcare provision (availability, placement capacity, bala...
Technical Report
Full-text available
This report describes how an international panel of experts in policy research and on-the-ground planning adapted and combined routine telematics and Rapid Synthesis and Translation Process (RSTP) to the rapid generation of knowledge on COVID-19, focusing particularly on the preparation and acceleration phases during March/April 2020 and on the imp...
Article
Full-text available
Background: This paper outlines the need for a health systems approach and rapid response strategy for gathering information necessary for policy decisions during pandemics and similar crises. It suggests a new framework for assessing the phases of the pandemic. Method: The paper draws its information and conclusions from a rapid synthesis and tran...
Article
Full-text available
Aim: To summarise commonalities and variations in the mental health response to COVID-19 across different sites and countries, with a view to better understanding key steps not only in crisis management, but for future systemic reform of mental health care. Method: We conducted a Rapid Synthesis and Translation Process of lessons learned from an in...
Preprint
Full-text available
Objective Urbanisation presents specific challenges for the mental wellbeing of the population. An understanding of availability of existing service provision in urban areas is necessary to plan for the needs of people with mental illness in these contexts to identify gaps in care provision and inform policy and planning. This study aims to provide...
Article
Background: This paper outlines the need for a health systems approach and rapid response strategy for gathering information necessary for policy decisions during pandemics and similar crises. It suggests a new framework for assessing the phases of the pandemic. Method: The paper draws its information and conclusions from a rapid synthesis and tran...
Article
Aim: To summarise commonalities and variations in the mental health response to COVID-19 across different sites and countries, with a view to better understanding key steps not only in crisis management, but for future systemic reform of mental health care. Method We conducted a Rapid Synthesis and Translation Process of lessons learned from an int...
Article
Objective Mental health (MH) care in remote areas is frequently scarce and fragmented and difficult to compare objectively with other areas even in the same country. This study aimed to analyze the adult MH service provision in 3 remote areas of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries in the world. Methods We used an intern...
Research
Full-text available
batyr engaged ConNetica (Mendoza and Wands) to undertake a thematic analysis of the stories written by 83 active speakers, aged 18 – 30 years of aged who are members of batyr’s Being Herd community. These stories explore each young person’s experience of mental ill health. batyr is a ‘for purpose preventative mental health organisation, created an...
Presentation
Full-text available
Despite decades of national suicide prevention strategies, we have failed to achieve significant and sustainable reductions in make suicides. Five strategies are proposed here: 1. Apply more of the principles of public health to suicide & self-harm prevention – that means less biomedical model emphasis & more focus on social determinants & life ev...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Initiatives to address male suicides in Australia have focussed on individual, bio-medical responses to acute suicidal behaviour and encouraging men to speak up and seek help. These efforts have yielded little despite increasing resources. Learning from past successful public health initiatives targeting men may provide the key elements for futur...
Article
Full-text available
Project Synergy aims to test the potential of new and emerging technologies to enhance the quality of mental health care provided by traditional face-to-face services. Specifically, it seeks to ensure that consumers get the right care, first time (delivery of effective mental health care early in the course of illness). Using co-design with affecte...
Technical Report
Full-text available
ConNetica Consulting, in collaboration with OzHelp developed and commenced delivery of the training program Strengthened for life in 2016. Strengthened for life® is a one-day suicide prevention training program that aims to increase participants' skills, knowledge and willingness to engage with and support individuals who are at imminent risk of su...
Technical Report
Full-text available
This is an evaluation report based on 325 surveys completed by participants in the Conversations for Life early suicide prevention course. Conversations for life® is a very early suicide prevention program that aims to increase participants’ knowledge, skills and confidence to have conversations with others who are starting to show signs of distr...
Technical Report
Full-text available
ConNetica Consulting in collaboration with the OzHelp Foundation and Strong Smart Solutions developed and commenced delivery of the training program Stronger Smarter Yarns for Life in 2016. Stronger Smarter Yarns for Life is a very early suicide prevention program that was developed with and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and non-indige...
Article
Objective: Access to services and workforce shortages are major challenges in rural areas worldwide. In order to improve access to mental health care, it is imperative to understand what services are available, what their capacity is and where existing funds might be spent to increase availability and accessibility. The aim of this study is to inve...
Technical Report
Full-text available
This is a submission to the Productivity Commission (of Australia's) Inquiry into Mental Health prepared by ConNetica for the Western Sydney Primary Health Network (PHN). The document is among over 450 submissions to the Inquiry. Its focus is on systems approaches to health reform with a particular focus on strengthening primary care through data...
Presentation
Full-text available
Stronger Smarter Yarns for Yarns is an early suicide prevention training program that has been developed with and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and non-Indigenous people. The program incorporates: • the unique factors contributing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ thoughts of suicide, alcohol and substance abuse and oth...
Technical Report
Full-text available
This Integrated Atlas of Western Australia, commissioned by the Western Australian Primary Health Alliance (WAPHA) and the Western Australia Mental Health Commission aligns with the recommendations of the National mental health Commission Review of Programmes in 2014 which drew attention tot he need for local planning and mapping of services and po...
Technical Report
Full-text available
This Integrated Atlas of Western Australia, commissioned by the Western Australian Primary Health Alliance (WAPHA) and the Western Australia Mental Health Commission aligns with the recommendations of the National Mental Health Commission's Review of Programmes in 2014 which drew attention to the need for local planning and mapping of services and...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
This presentation outlines the results from several large-scale regional service and population mapping projects in rural and regional Australia. It shows the types of services, the capacity of services and the location of services in relation to population need. Comparisons with other regions (in Australia and in other countries) are also shown. T...
Technical Report
Full-text available
The 2014 National Review of Mental Health Programmes and Services by the NMHC drew attention to the need of local planning of care for people with a lived experience of mental illness in Australia, and the relevance of a bottom- up approach to understanding “services available locally [in] the development of national policy” (NMHC, 2014). In its re...
Technical Report
Full-text available
The 2014 National Review of Mental Health Programmes and Services by the National Mental Health Commission (NMHC) drew attention to the need for health service planning for people with a lived experience of mental illness and the relevance of a bottom-up approach to understanding local service availability in the development of national policy. The...
Presentation
Full-text available
Australia has had very clearly articulated in policy and strategy documents, it's intentions to build a mental health care system based on community mental health, prevention and early intervention. However, these intentions have failed to be realised over a generation. This presentation outlines a way forward and what it will take to achieve a m...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Australia was the first developed nation to have a national suicide prevention strategy. Over more than two decades since, suicide prevention policy and strategy has predominately focussed on crisis intervention initiatives. In public health terms an 'individual risk' approach. Despite greater resources than ever, we continue to see year on year...
Presentation
Full-text available
Mental health reform efforts in Australia have focussed attention on the biomedical dimensions of mental illness. They have failed to educate and empower individuals and communities on the actions they can take in their daily lives and the policy decisions that affect our mental health status. Hence, the mental health of the nation is declining, no...
Presentation
Full-text available
The evidence on the efficacy of suicide prevention efforts is weak. Our understanding and approach to prevention is still in a pre-paradigm phase despite more than 50 years of research. Our efforts tend to focus on individuals - be they gatekeepers, individuals at risk or those bereaved by suicide. Systems and structural approaches to address the d...
Technical Report
Full-text available
This Integrated Atlas of Western Australia, commissioned by the Western Australian Primary Health Alliance (WAPHA) and the Western Australia Mental Health Commission aligns with the recommendations of the 2014 National Mental Health Commission report for local and regional planning. It is a tool for evidence informed planning that critically analys...
Presentation
Full-text available
Integrated atlases bring together population health data in small area analyses and then overlay the spectrum and capacity of mental health services across those geo-regions. Atlases use a standardised methodology for coding services to enable accurate comparisons and a solid basis for system wide planning. This presentation looks at the practi...
Technical Report
Full-text available
Chronic disease affects approximately seven million people in Australia, is a major contributor to morbidity and premature mortality and represents a disproportionately large economic cost to the health system. The three chronic disease foci of this report, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) and Diabetes Mell...
Technical Report
Full-text available
This Integrated Atlas of Western Australia, commissioned by the Western Australian Primary Health Alliance (WAPHA) and the Western Australia Mental Health Commission aligns with the recommendations of the National Mental Health Commission's Review of Programmes in 2014 which drew attention to the need for local planning and mapping of services and...
Technical Report
Full-text available
The Integrated Mental Health Atlas for the Sydney North Primary Health Network (SNPHN) aligns with the recommendations of state and national plans and is the region’s first inventory of available services specifically targeted for people with a lived experience of mental illness. Utilising a standard classification system, the Description and Eva...
Presentation
Full-text available
Following the 2014 Review of Programmes and Service by the National Mental health Commission and the Australian Government's response a year later accepting the recommendations made by the Commision, there was a real opportunity for real reform of mental health services. Now just 12 months on from the Government's response, the translation of the p...
Technical Report
Full-text available
The 2014 National Review of Mental Health Programmes and Services by the National Mental Health Commission drew attention to the need for local planning of care for people with a lived experience of mental illness in Australia and the relevance of a bottom-up approach to understanding “services available locally [in] the development of national pol...
Presentation
Full-text available
NAPLAN is the national testing regime for numeracy and literacy conducted across Australian schools. As with all such national school testing, it is not without critics. However, there is no national testing regime for social and emotional wellbeing or physical health. Evidence of the benefits of daily physical education for students' physical, soc...
Technical Report
Full-text available
Literature Review This review was to answer the following three main questions: 1. What research currently exists to indicate the prevalence or incidence of mental illness in the sector (broadly described as comprising practicing architects, and para professionals such as Computer Aided Design (CAD) technicians, students and graduates of architectu...
Article
Full-text available
Technical Report
Full-text available
ConNetica, with partners from the Mental Health Policy Unit, Brain and Mind Centre at the University of Sydney, were engaged by Metro North Brisbane Medicare Local (later the Brisbane North Primary Health Network – BN PHN) in February 2015 to undertake an analysis of the current mental health services and population mental health needs for the regi...
Article
Full-text available
Greatly enhanced accountability can drive mental health reform. As extant approaches are ineffective, we propose a new approach. Australia spends around $7.6 billion on mental health services annually, but is anybody getting better? Effective accountability for mental health can reduce variation in care and increase effective service provision. Des...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
The extent of suicide and self harm in Australia is significant yet as a public health issue, it receives little attention nor the application of proven public health strategies. Largely absent form the suicide prevention strategies and initiatives of all Australian governments over the past 2 decades, has been an absence of any attention on the so...
Presentation
Full-text available
Focusing on social determinants for suicide prevention means shifting the dial from waiting for a crisis to develop and then acting, to helping individuals who are becoming overwhelmed with the challenges in their life at the earliest possible time. This improves the chances of building capacity and networks to address challenges before they become...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Introduction: Consumer focused integrated care requires a whole of system paradigm shift for the myriad of community and government service providers that provide support to individuals who are impacted by severe and complex mental, physical and social health issues. Service providers often work in silos due to narrow and specific contractual oblig...
Technical Report
Full-text available
In February 2014, ConNetica was contracted by the Queensland Mental Health Commission (QMHC) to undertake a review of the Queensland Ed-LinQ Initiative. The purpose of the project was to develop and implement a framework to evaluate the Ed- LinQ Initiative, including reviewing the associated evidence. This project was conducted from mid-February u...
Technical Report
Full-text available
In February 2014, ConNetica was contracted by the Queensland Mental Health Commission (QMHC) to undertake a review of the Queensland Ed-LinQ Initiative. The purpose of the project was to develop and implement a framework to evaluate the Ed-LinQ Initiative, including reviewing the associated evidence. This project was conducted from mid-February un...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Suicide prevention is a factor of well-being. It is always contextual and it is always personal. Sadly, it is more easily identified and labelled as suicide prevention when a crisis occurs and urgent intervention is required. By then the task for a bystander is more difficult, the burden more severe and the responsibility more acute. For any indivi...
Presentation
Full-text available
Presentation In February 2014, ConNetica was contracted by the Queensland Mental Health Commission (QMHC) to undertake a review of the Queensland Ed-LinQ Initiative. The purpose of the project was to develop and implement a framework to evaluate the Ed-LinQ Initiative, including reviewing the associated evidence. This project was conducted from m...
Presentation
Full-text available
Suicide prevention is a factor of well-being. It is always contextual and it is always personal. Sadly, it is more easily identified and labelled as suicide prevention when a crisis occurs and urgent intervention is required. By then the task for a bystander is more difficult, the burden more severe and the responsibility more acute. For any indivi...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
In the early days of the development and trialling of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, a number of issues as the scheme related to mental health consumers and providers were evident. Now, a decade on, we can see that these issues were either ignored or given too little attention resulting in adverse impacts on consumers, providers and the...
Book
Full-text available
This Perspectives Report accompanies the Obsessive Hope Disorder Technical Report and Summary Report. The Perspectives Report, including the analysis, has been prepared and edited by John Mendoza, Amy Elson and Yve Gilbert. We thank Keith Wilson, Sebastian Rosenberg and Amanda Bresnan for their work on proofing and helpful comments. We wish to th...
Book
Full-text available
The rationale for this Report is simple. It is released on the anniversaries of two landmark reports on mental health care in Australia - the 30th anniversary of the Richmond Report and 20th anniversary of the Burdekin Report. The move to deinstitutionalisation is arguably one of the most important public policy ʻdecisionsʼ of the post-war era in...
Book
Full-text available
The year 2013 marked the 30th anniversary of the Richmond Report and Inquiry into Health Services for the Psychiatrically Ill and Developmentally Disabled. The year also marked 209 years since the Burdekin Report into the Human Rights of People with Mental Illness and the commencement of National Mental Health reform in Australia. The aim of this...
Book
Full-text available
Today, in 2013, it is a tragedy that despite a growing awareness of mental illness and an increase in knowledge about symptoms, causes and where to seek help, young men in Australia are still not getting the right help at the right time. The consequences are often dire, with men having higher rates of suicide, alcohol or other substance misuse, vio...
Article
Despite significant recent public investment in mental health, do we really know what Australia is getting for its money? In response to repeated inquiries revealing a profound crisis in the provision of mental health care services, Australia has committed to spending around $8 billion of new money on mental health since 2006. Few would argue that...
Technical Report
Full-text available
Report Summary Purpose This booklet has been prepared by QNADA to summarise the key elements of research conducted by ConNetica Consulting on our behalf. The full report documents the cultural change processes use by eleven alcohol and drug agencies in Queensland provided with capacity building grants from the Department of Health and Ageing to r...
Book
Full-text available
Suicide is the leading cause of death for men and women under the age 34 years, the leading cause of death for males aged under the age of 44 years and costs our nation over $17 billion every year yet it is largely hidden….
Article
Full-text available
Suicide and intentional self-harm are issues of major importance in public health and public policy, with rates widely used as progress indicators in these areas. Accurate statistics are vital for appropriately targeted prevention strategies and research, costing of suicide and to combat associated stigma. Underreporting of Australian suicide rates...
Book
Full-text available
A Mentally Healthy Future for all Australians "We don't just want to live in Australia - we want to live in a mentally healthy Australia" Australia was the first nation in the world to recognise the need for a national effort to improve mental health services for people with mental illness. In 1992, the then Keating Government, with the agreement...
Article
Full-text available
Suicide and intentional self-harm are issues of major importance in public health and public policy, with rates widely used as progress indicators in these areas. Accurate statistics are vital for appropriately targeted prevention strategies and research, costing of suicide and to combat associated stigma. Underreporting of Australian suicide rates...
Article
Full-text available
The Council of Australian Governments revitalised national mental health reform in 2006. Unfortunately, evidence-based models of collaborative care have not yet been supported. Previous attempts at national reform have lacked a strategic vision. We continue to rely on arrangements that are fragmented between different levels of government, poorly r...
Article
Full-text available
In the lead up to the meeting of the Council of Australian Governments, addressing structural changes in the mental health care service system was a priority for the peak sector body. The key issues and challenges for government are set out in this short article.
Presentation
Full-text available
My thanks to the organisers for the invitation to this forum. It comes at a time when we in the mental health sector have hope for real change. I plan to examine the look at the models of care in mental health not form a clinical perspective, I’m not a clinician, but come with a public health and public policy perspective. I think it is important...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Sport and Mental Health. Models of Mental Health Care: a macro perspective My thanks to the organisers for the invitation to this forum. It comes at a time when we in the mental health sector have hope for real change. I plan to examine the look at the models of care in mental health not form a clinical perspective, I’m not a clinician, but come w...
Presentation
Full-text available
There has been, and continues to be, widespread international concern aboutathletes’ use of banned performance enhancing drugs (PEDs). This concern cul-minated in the formation of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in Novem-ber 1999. To date, the main focus on controlling the use of PEDs has been ontesting athletes and the development of tests to...