National Dual Diagnosis E-Learning Resource

The National Dual Diagnosis Programme (National Mental Health Development Unit, Department of Health) led by Ann Gorry and Tom Dodd, have commissioned a group of consultant nurses (PROGRESS) and Coventry University to develop an innovative online awareness raising resource relating to people who have both mental health and drug/alcohol use issues (also known as “dual diagnosis”).  This programme will be free to access,  and aimed at clinical staff, people who use services and their carers, and other interested parties such as police, ambulance staff, prison officers etc.

For further information, please contact Dr Elizabeth Hughes at elizabeth.hughes@york.ac.uk

Try the dual diagnosis e-learning resource now.

Aim of project

The overall aim of the project has been to develop and evaluate an e-learning training resource for practitioners, service users, carers and the public for dual diagnosis awareness.  This means an awareness of the basic issues, and is not intended to create dual diagnosis “specialists” or replace skills-based training, although it would serve as a good introduction prior to commencing a more formal training course.  It is based on level 1 capabilities set out in the Capabilities Framework for Dual Diagnosis.

Who is involved?

Dr Liz Hughes (York University) has developed the e-learning content while working at Coventry University with colleagues from PROGRESS (Consortium of Consultant Nurses in Dual Diagnosis) and will continue to liaise with members of PROGRESS regarding the formatting and development of the e-learning.  Dr Lynn Clouder and colleagues in the Centre for Interprofessional E-Learning have turned the content into an online resource. Service user and carer involvement has been essential to this project.  They have been consulted regarding the content, and a group have agreed to be filmed and these clips form part of the learning resource.

E-learning content

The e-learning will consist of 4 modules:

1. Introduction to dual diagnosis including definitions, impact and attitudes
2. Mental health awareness and how it impacts on drug/alcohol use
3. Substance use awareness and how it impacts on mental health
4. Skills and interventions focusing on the process of change and what helps.

The e-learning resource will be suitable for practitioners both qualified and unqualified, as well as service users and carers, and members of the public.  The language of the materials will be simple and jargon free.  We will provide information about where to find out more on a range of subjects. There is a workbook template to print off and we advise people to use this to make notes while they work through the resource.  We also suggest that you print off and keep some of the key documents that are of interest to you.  This is not intended to be an exhaustive resource on dual diagnosis, and we also advise you to follow some of the weblinks and explore further resources that may be of interest to you.

The access point will be through the CURVE repository. This can be accessed via the link below .  We have also created a text only version which can be accessed using an audio reader for those with visual impairments.In addition we are working on developing the resource to be in a format that NHS organisations can embed in their own local learning systems.

The IT requirements

The IT requirements are a modern PC with sound facility, an internet broadband connection, and Flash player software.  If you don’t have Flash player software, it is free to download. You may find that the sound quality from your PC speakers is limited, so we recommend you use external speakers or use earphones to listen to the videos.

If you don’t own a computer or have access to one at work, you will be able to access the internet via local libraries or by using organisations such as MIND. 

Evaluation

It is essential that we gather feedback about this resource and we aim to collate feedback to develop and modify this resource in the future.  We will ask people to evaluate the resource as a learning tool and ask for feedback and ideas about future development.  Once the resource has been completed participants will be prompted to complete the post-training survey.  On completion of this they will be able to print off their certificate.




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