
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Einfeld, Stewart 
A1  - Tobin, Margaret 
A1  - Beard, John 
A1  - Evans, Elizabeth 
A1  - Buss, Richard 
A1  - Dudley, Michael 
T1  - Sustaining evidence-based practice for young people who self-harm: a 4-year follow-up
JF  - Australian Health Review
JO  - Aust. Health Review
Y1  - 2004
VL  - 27
IS  - 2
SP  - 94
EP  - 99
KW  - 
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1071/AH042720094 
N2  - Stewart Einfeld is at the School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales; the late Margaret Tobin was the Director of Mental Health, South Australia; John Beard is Head of the Northern Rivers University Department of Rural Health, University of Sydney; Elizabeth Evans is a Research Assistant at the School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales; Richard Buss is the Area Manager, Northern Rivers Area Mental Health Service; Michael Dudley is a child psychiatrist at Prince of Wales Hospital and the School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales.This report is dedicated to our late co-author Margaret Tobin, to honour her contribution to advancing the quality of mental health services.Objective: In 1998 and 1999, two NSW Area Health Services conducted the Youth At Risk of Deliberate Self Harm (YARDS) project. The YARDS project was designed to implement evidence-based service enhancements for the clinical management of young people with Deliberate Self Harm. This paper examines the extent to which service enhancements implemented during YARDS were maintained 4 years after the conclusion of the project and compares service quality with another NSW Area Health Service that did not participate in the YARDS project.Method: Staff from mental health services and emergency departments completed the Service Activity Scale, a measure developed for the YARDS project to assess the quality of health service response to individuals who present following a suicide attempt.Results: Results indicated that the service improvements made during the YARDS project were maintained 4years after the project ended. Furthermore, a significant difference was found between scores for services that participated in YARDS and services that did not participate in YARDS.Conclusions: These results suggest that projects such as YARDS which support evidence based service nhancements may be useful in improving the management of young people with deliberate self-harm, and that these improvements may be long-lasting. 
ER  -

