Mentoring for population health in general practice divisions

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Services Management
• Workplace Education

Background:

• Divisions of General Practice require enhanced understanding of population health concepts.
• A need exists for practical, workplace-based learning models to improve organizational performance in public health.
• The Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing funded a specific initiative to address these needs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the implementation and evaluation of a three-way service development mentoring model.
• To assess the effectiveness of a population health mentoring program for staff in South Australian Divisions of General Practice.
• To determine if the mentoring model enhanced organizational performance and addressed identified population health issues.

Main Methods:

• A three-way service development mentoring model was implemented.
• Learning was grounded in the participant's work setting and addressed specific population health problems.
• A formal evaluation was conducted involving learners, mentors, and executive officers.

Main Results:

• Learners reported a consensus that mentoring was a positive and worthwhile experience, achieving their set goals.
• Mentors found the learning model agreeable and effective.
• Division executive officers observed enhanced skills in staff and recognized benefits to organizations through well-researched projects.

Conclusions:

• The service development mentoring model was effective in enhancing population health understanding and skills.
• The program led to the development of relevant projects with the potential to improve the efficiency of population health activities.
• The model demonstrated a positive impact on both individual learning and organizational performance within Divisions of General Practice.