MENTAL HEALTH AND ORGANISATIONAL CHANGEMental health worker’s perception of role stress, self-efficacy and organisational climate regarding the ethos of recovery

The recent organisational changes in mental health service delivery with their increasing emphasis on implementing and evaluating recovery-oriented practice have implications for ongoing professional development. This study examined the relationship between work-related self-efficacy, organisational climate in terms of perceived service resilience and the organisational conditions of role conflict and role ambiguity. A survey of members of community and hospital mental health multi-disciplinary teams in a Northern Ireland Health and Social Care integrated Trust was conducted. Sixty-seven of a sample of one hundred and ten mental health staff, including social workers, nurses, occupational therapists and day care workers, in three service settings including hospital, community and day care, completed a thirty eight item questionnaire. The questionnaire contained four scales measuring organisational change, self-efficacy, and role conflict and role ambiguity. Results showed that there were strong negative correlations between organisational climate and role stressors, and a negative correlation of moderate significance between self- efficacy and role ambiguity. The researchers suggest that task-specific, self-efficacy measures could be used routinely with increased reflective practice to promote a reduction in role ambiguity. The continued use of personal and professional recovery-enhancing measures as part of service evaluation is also advocated.