Investigators: Dr Natasha Pearce, Prof Donna Cross, Prof Peter Gething, Prof Asha Bowen, Prof Frank Oberklaid, Prof Dorothy Espelage, A/Prof Kay Bussey, Dr Kevin Runions, Dr Jacinta Francis
Team Members: Erin Erceg, Kevin Runions, Matilda Attey
Funder of the project: Healthway & Lotterywest
Partners: WA Dept of Education, WA Dept of Health, WA Mental Health Commissioner & WA Commissioner for Children and Young People
Project Aim: OASIS aims to support the implementation and dissemination of Friendly Schools across schools throughout Australia. The project aims to empower school communities to support student mental health and wellbeing through the co-development and testing of the digital platform OASIS (Online Assessment, Support and Implementation System).
Project Description: OASIS will provide both primary and secondary schools with the necessary support to effectively implement the best evidence-based whole-schools mental health and wellbeing policies and practices that best address the needs of the students’ and that best fit the schools context.
OASIS at-scale will provide support well beyond what is currently available to Australian school communities – highly tailored evidenced-based practice recommendations addressing their own children’s and adolescents’ strengths and needs using machine learning that guides, monitors and measures impact over time. This will allow schools to benchmark, monitor and adjust their practices and understand whether they are making a genuine difference to the wellbeing and mental health of their students. It will also help them to allocate and invest their scarce human and financial resources with greater return.
Phase 1 (July 2021 – Dec 2023): involves the partner and consumer co-development and piloting of the OASIS tool using of the OASIS proof-of-concept scoping study findings from 10 SA schools and a common elements analysis of whole-school mental health and wellbeing practices
Phase 2 (Jan 2023 – June 2025): comprises a pragmatic stepped-wedge intervention trial of OASIS to increase school staff capabilities and student outcomes
Phase 3 (July 2025 – June 2026): focusses on knowledge translation and working with the community and other key stakeholders to scale the OASIS tool to all WA schools and support ongoing student mental health policy and practice change