The Development and Implementation of a Data Management Strategy for a Community Mental Health Organization

While the use of “big data” in the business world and health sector is well underway, mental health services are slower to use their big data, particularly for research and decision-making purposes. Researchers have identified a need to explore the use of big data in mental health organizations, such as identifying strategies and tools to optimize data use, and examining the role of big data in mental health service delivery and policy development. This project consists of the development and implementation of a data management strategy for a local community mental health organization with the overall aims of increasing the data utility and research capacity of the organization, and providing strategies and lessons learned for the use of big data in a community mental health setting. The project will include a scoping review, a needs assessment, and a developmental evaluation of the implementation of the strategy. In addition, it will include two follow-up studies that will use the organization’s data to: 1) examine the evolving use of virtual care in light of the COVID-19 pandemic; and, 2) develop a fidelity measure of the strengths model of case management, an intervention used by the organization.

Faculty Supervisor:

Tim Aubry

Student:

Maryann Roebuck

Partner:

Canadian Mental Health Association - Ottawa Branch

Discipline:

Psychology

Sector:

Health care and social assistance

University:

University of Ottawa