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November/December2022ALIVEImage description: The ALIVE National Team and Mad Poetry attendees at the park COMMUNITY UPDATEThe ALIVE National Centre for Mental Health Research Translation is funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Special Initiative in Mental Health grant APP2002047.

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and sky. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present. We are committed to working together to address the health inequalities within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. We accept the invitation to the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

3Welcome[Featured on the front cover: Lived-Experience Research Collective members in one of the Lived-Experience Research Collective Gatherings]Welcome to this November-December bi-monthly Community Update. This is our final update for the year before we wrap up for Christmas! It’s been a huge year for the ALIVE National Centre and in 2023 our new look web pages will showcase more details about research activities that are underway.In November, we had the launch of our co-design handbook and celebrated 5 years of the Co-Design Living Labs program. The Inaugural Alex McLeod Training Awards were announced and if you look ahead you can catch a tune created by Dr Jennifer Bibb for the event!We've had 2 virtual translation café series presentations recently including: Jenni Campbell on the Initial Assessment and Referral Decision Support Tool (IAR-DST) and Bernard Galbally and Rebecca Morecroft on the secondary schools suicide prevention community-based program Live 4 Life.Investigator, Amanda Wheeler and Mental Healthcare at Scale postdoctoral researcher Justin Chapman visited from Griffith University, in November 2022. We focused on the impact evaluation framework for the National Centre which will guide the review of our progress at our Year 2 Symposium.

Last month we welcomed Senior research fellow within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Program LongerHealthier Lives, Priority Populations (Stream A), Wendy Hermeston, as well as a new Independent Advisory Board Consumer Co-Chair, Emily Unity. You can read about both Wendy and Emily's extensive experience in the “People Across The ALIVE National Centre” section of this update. We are very delighted to have Wendy and Emily join and are looking forward to seeing our Research Programs, Networks, Boards and Committees in February 2023.In December we ran our first module of The ALIVE National Centre’s i-LEARN (Integrating Lived-ExperienceApplied Research Nationally) Module #1. The workshop had 33 of our 65 registrants online we stay tuned for Modules 2 and 3 in 2023.We will have a break towards the holiday season, but we will not stop for long as we head to our 2023 Annual Symposium. This year we're focused on Holistic Terrains – how do we get there in mental health research translation? You can see the program flyer here:https://midd.me/J7fU . We are very excited to be joined by Joe Williams opening with Nurturing The Enemy Within and a range of community-led models to learn about in suicide prevention, culturally responsive trauma informed care and local adaptations in stepped care that are underway by our new Rural and Remote Health partners at Flinders University led by Oliver Black.We have had a very action-packed year. We would like to thank each and every one of you for your contributions and for being a part of our community and helping make this Centre possible.We wish you a joyous holiday season and looking forward to catching up with you in the new year!We also want to thank the excellent work of the ALIVE National Centre HUB in keeping the coordination going – great work and looking forward to 2023.Victoria Palmer & Michelle BanfieldCo-Directors4

From the Longer Healthier Lives Research Program Stream B Unmet Physical Health Needs in Priority PopulationsCardiovascular risk calculators are used to predict the likelihood of developing heart problems in the wider community within the next five years of someone's life.There are several commonly used cardiovascular risk (CVD) prediction algorithms used by health professionals. For example, when you go to see a general practitioner, they usually use one provided by the Heart Foundation online.A big challenge is that current calculators used to identify risk for people of future heart issues may not be appropriate for use with people who experience complex mental ill-health. While there have been gains made to improve heart health broadly and reduce risk of future heart issues, these gains have not translated for people who live with complex mental health needs.Overall, the pattern of correlations amongst heart health risk indictors for people living with complex mental health needs such as those called psychosis are different from those for whom cardiovascular risk calculators have been developed.This raises the question- what sort of risk estimation approaches do we need for people with severe mental ill-health?The CVD risk estimation study is a project that Chief Investigator Vera Morgan and her team at The University of Western Australia are working on with other members of the ALIVE National Centre. It aims to address that gap between what’s out there for identifying heart health risks and what works. There have previously been CVD risk tools developed that take into account that people with severe mental ill-health may have different risk profiles.This study will look at existing predictive risk equations for CVD and see how they work on data from the 2010 Survey of High Impact Psychosis (SHIP) data which is also linked to CVD outcomes.The team aims to determine how well the tools predict the CVD related outcomes in the SHIP data, to describe which ones work better and where there might be discrepancies between what we expected and what we observed and what might be the underlying causes of these discrepanciesThe end game is to be able to provide clinicians who treat people with psychotic disorders some better indicators of how particular algorithms might be tweaked with the population.5Highlight on Cardiovascular Risk

6Highlight on School ConnectednessThey show how school social and emotional environments matter for mental health and that fostering school connectedness might be a way to prevent depression and anxiety.The peer-reviewed publication is now available at BMC Public Health:https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-022-14364-6Wellcome (the funder) has also published a summary of the findings in their annual report:https://wellcome.org/reports/what-science-has-shown-can-help-young-people-anxiety-and-depressionWatch the animation video summarising the project here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqKHakQ0R4kFrom the Prevention Across the Life Course Research ProgramMonika Raniti and the team from Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI)were commissioned to explore the role of school connectedness, defined as how much a student feels accepted, valued and supported in their educational environment, in preventing future depression and anxietyThe review was funded by the Wellcome Trust's Active Ingredients for Youth Anxiety and Depression Commission and undertaken in partnership with a group of youth advisors from Australia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.The systematic review of 36 international studies, published in BMC Public Health, overwhelmingly found that higher levels of school connectedness predicted lower levels of depression and anxiety symptoms later.

It is with great sadness that we mark the passing of our dear colleague Professor George Patton who passed away on the 7thof December 2022.Excerpts below from the centre for adolesecent healthProfessor George Patton was an eminent Adolescent Psychiatrist and Psychiatric Epidemiologist whose career focussed on improving the health of adolescents, in Australia and across the globe. George’s work brought global attention to adolescence as a unique developmental stage. His work defined the unmet needs of the world’s young people and he articulated the actions required to improve adolescent health.George’s recent career was defined by the Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing. This landmark body of work was accompanied by a commentary by the former Secretary General of the United Nations identifying young people as the ‘world’s greatest untapped resource’. The Commission has proven remarkably influential, not only in shaping how people think about the significance of adolescents and their health, but also in galvanising the nature of investments made to advance their health and wellbeing.George’s global contributions emerged out of his stellar research career in Australia where he led long-term cohort studies that continue to describe how adolescent health needs emerge from childhood through adolescence, from adolescence into adulthood, and into the next generation, including mental health (anxiety, depression, suicide and self harm, eating disorders), substance use, sexualhealth and more recently, COVID-19.7Vale Professor George Patton

8While the Centre’s 'extended family’ will undoubtedly share our loss, the rigour and innovativeness of his research legacy, and that of those he trained, will influence the field forgenerations to come. George’s life and work were shared withProfessor Susan Sawyer AM, who took over from George as director of the Centre for Adolescent Health in 2004. George recently described Susan as the person who has influenced him most in how he approached hiswork, encouraging him to engagewell beyond the technical side of research; together they truly did achieve great things. Our thoughts are with Susan, George’s childrenSusannah, Thomas, Imogen andJonathan, grandson Robert, and the entire Centre for Adolescent Health family.George was unfailingly committed to the highest scientific standards, and was piercingly creative and rigorous in how he approached research.He published paper upon paper inthe world’s leading academic journals and was an equally powerfulscientific communicator on thestage. Despite this, he remained aremarkably humble man who was unfailingly generous with his time, ideasand wisdom, characteristics that nodoubt explain why he was so sought after within various global leadership networks.George was equally committed to growing the next generation of research leaders and he supervised and mentored more than 40 PhD and postgraduate scholars. George’s 30 years of research leadership at the Centre for Adolescent Health saw it emerge as ‘the’ place to study adolescent healthglobally; it continues to welcome scores of visiting academics, clinicians,and students from across the world each year.Centre Co-Directors Victoria Palmer and Michell Banfield aresaddenedby the passing of George Patton.We want to acknowledge and honour the substantive role thatProfessor George Patton played in writing the National Centregrant proposal and the zest and passion he brought tointerviews that were conducted for the funding. George's visionfor Prevention of Across the Life Course Stream was toimplement community-based approaches to really dosomething different at a national scale—we aim to honour hislegacy in our work and actions. Our thoughts are with George’sfamily, friends and research group teams across Australia andinternationally."

In 2022, The ALIVE NationalCentre's partner university ANU and Michelle Banfield led a National Survey regarding mental health priorities for lived experience individuals and carers, family and kinship group members. These have supported the development of the ALIVE National Centre's Roadmap for Mental Health Research Translation and Consensus Statement Phase 1 work.This year and into February 2023, Chief Investigator Darryl Mayberry from the National Centre partner Monash University and the PRATO team will be leading the second survey. More about the PRATO international collaboration can be found here:https://www.parentfamilymentalhealth.com/This second survey expands the initial dataset gathered to include the priorities for children, young people and families with a parent living with mental ill-health.The title of the project is: What outcomes should be measured by research regarding families where a parent experiencesmental illness and what is the best way to do this? Perspectives of people with lived experience of parental mental ill-health, practitioners and academics.The aims of this study are to: reach a better collectiveunderstanding of whatoutcomes should be measured research involving families where a parent experiences mental illness (FaPMI) and what the important outcomes are for health and social care related interventions and research involving families where a parent experiences a mental illness including the available methods to measure those outcomes.92023 Priorities Survey

10Young People and Familiespartners) of individuals who have experienced a mental illness.● People who have worked in roles in both providing and/or managing mental health care to families where a parent has a mental illness.● People who are involved in conducting academic research:Participation will be anonymous and you can take part in the survey following this link:https://monash.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_01gkfjYoaBhbSDjIf you have any questions e-mail alive-hub@unimelb.edu.auEligibility for participation:We are seeking people with the following life experiencesto participate in this study:● Children aged 16+ with a parent who has experienced a mental illness.● Parents (including adoptive parents, foster parents,step-parents, and primary carers) who have experienced a mental illness.● Family members closely involved in supporting children where parents experience mental illness(grandparents, aunts/uncles, etc...)● Partners (including co-parents, spouses, romantic Image by Jessica Rockowitz on Unsplash

11The confirmed priorities of Rural and Remote Mental Health, Holistic Care and Models of Care to address Trauma, Violence, Stigma to shift experiences of care are the focus of discussions across the two days of the Symposium and the special partnership event with the Big Anxiety Research Centre that follows on Day Three in person on Larrakia.Thank you to the custodians of the lands where everyone will be meeting and joining from over the course of the Symposium. Let's get started on the implementation journey to an Holistically based system of mental health care across Australia.View our program flyer here for more information on how to register: https://midd.me/J7fU . SAVE THE DATE and come join us on our journey to Holistic Terrains. Our second annual hybrid (in-person and online) symposium for the ALIVE National Centre is on 30-31st March 2022. This year we are honoured to be guests in Larrakia Country to listen, learn and share local innovations in community-led models with social and emotional wellbeing.Our symposium is centredaround the ALIVE National Roadmap for Mental Health Research Translation year to year. In 2022, we were guests in Nipalana Country (University of Tasmania) where we shared progress for the establishment of our roadmap. In 2022, over 350 people shared priorities for mental health research, service and systems improvements and what social issues and determinants need to be addressed.The ALIVE National Centre's An

12"A TERRAIN" a geographic area, a piece of land. Or, the physical features of a type of land and what that land is made from...Working with the Big Anxiety and fEEL, the Uti Kulintjaku team have created two new virtual reality works, sharing their healing practices through creative visualisation, including Waumananyi: The Song on the Wind, an Anangu-led response to the experiences of constraint, entrapment, and depression through the traditional story (or ‘tjukurpa’) of ‘The Man in the Log’. These Virtual Reality works will be presented in partnership with The ALIVE National Centre.Venue details to be confirmed and registration is for local Larrakia based attendees only.On Day Three we have a special in-person partnership event with the Big Anxiety Research Centre called Uti Kulintjaku.The Uti Kulintjaku is an innovative, Aboriginal-led mental health literacy project that takes its name from a Pitjantjatjara phrase that means ‘to listen, think and understand clearly’. Formed from the Ngangkaritraditional healers and artists of the Ngaanyatjarra PitjantjatjaraYankunytjatjara Women’s Council, the Uti Kulintjaku addresses community issues of mental health from both Aboriginal and Western perspectives. “What makes (the Uti Kulintjaku project) especially compelling”, writes Kim Mahood in The Monthly, “is that it provides a framework for a conversation about the underlying psychological forces that drive human behaviour.”nual Symposium 2023

13Current Implementation Researc

14h & Networks

15Lived-Experience Research CollectiveThe Long Conversation – we are calling from some Crowds to help start The Long Conversation!Help us to start The Long Conversation – a nation-wide project of the Lived-Experience Research Collective. to document the who, what, where and how of lived-experience research across the nation.Watch the how to video here for submitting an idea to the Crowdsourcing Space:https://youtu.be/kwcfOGqS2-4 or follow this story board by Josh Moorhouse

16The ALIVE National Centre & Neami National are embarking on the Implementation Co-Evaluation of the Head to Health Services being delivered by Neami National.Neami National and The ALIVE National Centre are working together on an implementation co-evaluation of the five Head to Health Services being run by Neami. The co-evaluation is intended to understand the implementation journeys of each service and inform improvements to this process throughout the evaluation and beyond.The project has two key defined phases. Phase 1 is about understanding where the implementation currently stands, and sets some evaluation components in place to allow an understanding of how the implementation journey is progressing. Phase 1 also incorporates co-design steps to inform data collection and engagement strategies for guests, staff and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people engaged with the services. Phase 2 will be a more intensive data collection phase and will commence early 2023.Phase 1 ethics approval at the University of Melbourne was granted mid-November and the project is currently under review at Neami with some meetings scheduled and background work underway to allow data collection at the earliest opportunity.A team of researchers from the Lived Experience Research Collective have joined now to ensure that we have an embedded lived-experience research team and model in place for data collection, analysis and interpretation, and preparation of outputs. Regular team meetings have been established and working processes are being developed.We are working with the team at Neami to develop relationships with sites and stakeholders and some site visits have commenced.Resources and approaches are being developed for Phase 2 of the co-evaluation as the data collection for Phase 1 is commencing.Update on the Neami Implementation Co-Evaluation

Network UpdatesThe 2023 annual e-networking event is on 29th March 2023. This will be an opportunity for members of the next generation researcher network and the lived experience research collective to meet, discuss common interests and foster collaborations. We will also be making plans for 2023, so make sure not to miss this!For more information and to register click here:https://midd.me/eLWN17

18In addition to the event, we are also requesting posters for the ALIVE Centre's digital platform(similar to the snapshot below from 2022) that will be available for viewing during the annual symposium. For a copy of the poster template please e-mail: alive-hub@unimelb.edu.auPosters are due on February 10th 2023

Network Updates19Co-Design Living Labs NetworkWe recently launched a three-part video series on Diversity and Inclusion within co-design. See the video series here: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/nb4eThe three parts are:Part 1 – The central role of trust and relationships in co-designPart 2 – Diversity within lived-experience in co-designPart 3 – Inclusion and Diversity within mob co-designThis video series was funded by the University of Melbourne Medicine Dentistry and Health Sciences Diversity & Inclusion Grant 2022. We hope the videos will be a helpful resource for health researchers embarking on co-design in the future.ANNOUNCING THE ALEX MCLEOD CO-DESIGNER TRAINING AWARDCongratulations to our three successful applicants for The 2023 Alex McLeod Co-Designer Training Award - Rose, Josie and Gregor!The award provides support for Co-Design Living Labs members to be appointed to a training position for a year. The aim is to foster co-design skills development, and grow the capabilities within the membership base of the Co-Design Living Labs Network. Through the training program, co-designers will have the opportunity to gather more experience about co-designing for service improvement and systems change and to become engaged in leading co-design research, convene and facilitate groups, and research activities, and learn about the operations of the ALIVE National Centre Co-Design Living Labs Network. This annual Award marks an important moment in the next steps of the Co-Design Living Labs program as it becomes a national network. We look forward to working with the successful Awardees and sharing more once they have started in 2023.“It has been an interesting year being a co-lead in the Co-Design Living Labs network. Monthly meetings are always interesting because each of us brings such different experiences to the conversation. As we get to know each other, the sharing has been easier and more interesting.”- Tricia -Image by gstudioimagenon Freepik

20The Future Mental HealthSystem is a Changin’Written to the tune of‘The Times They Are A Changin’ by Bob DylanBy Jennifer BibbG Em C GCome gather round people, Wherever you roamG Am C DAnd bring your ideas to make change to be knownG Em C GWe all can contribute in big ways or smallG Am DLet’s collaborate and co-design better outcomes for allD D7Well you better join in, our living labs and begin,G C D GFor the mental health systems a changin’G Em C GCome community, industry, government and allG Am C DAnd keep your eyes wide open for our callG Em C GWe are working to embed experience at the coreG Am DAnd there’s no telling where we are stoppingD D7For you better join in, our living labs and begin,G C D GFor the mental health systems a changin’G Em C GCome co-designers from across this big landG Am C DAnd bring what matters to you, its in your handsG Em C GTo create and transform beyond what we have knownG Am DThere is hope and it’s growing and growingD D7For you better join in, our living labs and begin,G C D GFor the mental health systems a changin’

Ready, Set, Translate – Virtual CFor October's Ready, Set, Translate - Virtual Café Series, we were fortunate to have Jenni Campbell, Project Manager for the Initial Assessment and Referral (IAR) present on The National Initial Assessment and Referral (IAR) for Mental Healthcare Guidance and Decision Support Tool (DST). Jenni explained that the IAR-DST is a tool that can be accessed on a standalone website: https://iar-dst.online/#/ and is used by practitioners to understand those seeking mental health assistance in the context of holistic assessment of 8 domains.The 8 initial assessment domains are: Symptom severity and distress; Risk of harm; Functioning; Impact of coexisting conditions; Treatment and recovery history; Social and environmental stressors; Family and other support and Engagement and Motivation.21Watch the recording here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gq7hdjDJsk

afé SeriesAfter completing the questions in the 8 domains, the tool then generates a report and recommends treatment that will likely lead to the most significant possible gain. The 5 levels of care that may be recommended are: Self-management; Low intensity; Moderate intensity; High intensity; Acute and specialist.The tool is not a replacement for clinical judgement, and there is a pop up on the page that users must acknowledge before proceeding. Next steps include adaptation of the tool for children, adolescents, older adults and first nations people.22

Ready, Set, Translate – Virtual C23In their talk, presenters Bernard Galbally (CEO) and Rebecca Morecroft (Director of Community Engagement) from Youth Live4Life discussed the Live4Life model, its evidence base and research plans, including a multi-year evaluation with the ALIVE Prevention across the life course program.Live4Life is the only mental health education and youth suicide prevention model designed specifically for rural and regional communities. Bernard and Rebecca shared sobering statistics that suicide is the leading cause of death of Australian young people, with the suicide rate being 40% higher in rural compared to metro areas, and 63% of people seeking support in rural areas not able to find the help they need.Live4Life builds young people's capacity to recognise, seek and offer help for mental health concerns and builds the capacity of a whole community to look after and support young people. Live4Life is led by a network of local organisations and schools who partner to lead and sustain the Live4Life model throughout each participating community.The Live4Life model comprises four components: 1) coordination, support and mentoring from Youth Live4Life staff; 2) School and community partnerships groups; 3) Evidence-based mental health education in schools and in community and 4) the Crew – Life4Life’s youth leadership and participation program. Written by Monika Raniti, The ALIVE National Centre's Prevention Across the Life Course Program Research Fellow. Some text provided by Live4Life. Watch the recording here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NdqASp12zY

afé SeriesSince its inception, 11,000 secondary school students have received mental health education, 1,400 adults have been trained in Mental Health First Aid and there are 683 “Crew” youth ambassadors. Live4Life was included as a case study by the Royal Commission into the Victoria health system as an innovative community-led model. Evaluations of the initiative have found several positive impacts including encouraging positive help-seeking behaviours in young people, communities being more networked and resilient, and adults having more confidence to support a young person.Live4Life is currently operating in nine rural Victorian communities (49 schools) including Macedon, Benalla and Glenelg which now self-sustain the model. There is capacity to expand into nine further communities over the next three years and with Federal Government support to trial Live4Life in a rural community outside Victoria. For further information please seehttps://www.live4life.org.au24

Writer-In-Residence25In November we have appointed a new Writer-In-Residence, Renee Fiolet.Renee Fiolet is a Research Fellow in the Safer Families Centre of Research Excellence in the Department of General Practice, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at the University of Melbourne. Prior to completing her PhD, Renee’s background has been in nursing where she focused on paediatrics, primary health care and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health before becoming a lecturer in nursing.Renee’s research concentrates on family violence and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health with an emphasis on Indigenous co-design and knowledge translation activities.Renee is the President of the Nursing Network on Violence Against Women International (NNVAWI), the Chair of the Sexual Assault and Faily Violence Centre (SAFV), Chair of Australasian Association for Academic Primary Care (AAAPC) Conference Committee and member of the Australian Council of Nurses (ACN) and violence taskforce.Renee’s lived experience of family violence, sexual assault and mental illness inform the work she does and inspires her desire to co-create spaces where people feel safe to heal. Her hobbies include drinking wine (not to excess!), eating good food, and spending time with friends and fur-babies.

Read the previous issues from all our Writers-In-Residence on our noticeboard here https://alivenetwork.com.au/the-alive-national-writer-in-residence-program/26

People across The ALIVE Nation27Congratulations to the newly appointed Independent Advisory Board Lived-Experience Co-Chair – Emily Unity!Emily Unity is a mental health lived and living experience professional and software engineer. They are passionate about designing creative solutions to systemic inequalities.Emily advocates within various organisations, focusing on amplifying marginalisedvoices. Currently, they are the Lived Experience Lead at the Royal Children’s Hospital. They are also on the Committee of Management for VMIAC and the Centre for Multicultural Youth, and a Board Director for Midsumma Festival and Intertwine.Emily is also a Lived Experience Advisor for Royal College of Psychiatry and Children & Young People with Disability Australia, and an Ambassador for UNICEF, Beyond Blue, Headspace, and more. Emily grounds their work in their lived and living experiences with mental health, disability, LGBTQIA+, homelessness, neurodiversity, and being a young carer from a refugee and migrant background.For their work, Emily was recently awarded the Mental Health Advocate of the Year, Youth of the Year, Disability Leadership Award, Innovation in Protecting Children Award, Children and Youth Empowerment Award, Community Leadership Award, 30 Under 30 LGBTQIA+ Award, and inducted in the first cohort of the Multicultural Honor Roll. Emily endeavours to use both their professional and lived experience to help design a world for all people, regardless of background, identity, or intersectionality.

al Centre28Welcome to Wendy Hermeston(Wiradjuri descendant) who has started a new role as a Senior Research Fellow within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Program Longer Healthier Lives, Priority Populations (Stream A).Dr Wendy Hermeston is a Wiradjuri scholar and Senior Research Fellow at the ALIVE National Centre for Mental Health Research Translation, University of Melbourne Medical School, Department of General Practice. Wendy has a PhD in law (University of Technology, Sydney), a Masters in Applied Epidemiology (Australian National University) and a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Psychology (Macquarie University).Wendy’s long background working in out-of-home care and Stolen Generations-related Aboriginal policy and practice informed her PhD study ‘Safe, Protected … Connected? The Best Interests of Aboriginal Children and Permanency Planning in the NSW Care and Protection System’. This research explored First Nations community member understandings of concepts central to decision making in the care jurisdiction, in particular the notions of the best interests of the child, permanency and attachment.