MHiPS in Queensland

In 2024, the MHiPS team was invited to explore how the MHiPS model could be adapted for regional and remote communities in Queensland, with support from the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation and the Queensland Department of Education. In collaboration with the Mount Isa Educational Precinct, which includes nine schools along with local health service providers and cultural leaders, the MHiPS team will adapt the MHiPS model for the Mount Isa context. A feasibility evaluation of the adapted model will also be conducted. 

The project builds on over 12 months of scoping work, including two visits to Mount Isa to engage with schools, health services, and the First Nations community. These visits allowed the MHiPS team to better understand local needs, build stakeholder relationships, and assess the feasibility of adapting the MHiPS model for the Mount Isa context. The decision to participate was ultimately made by the community, who have expressed strong support and a shared commitment to co-designing an adapted MHiPS approach that meets their local needs. 

As a remote community, Mount Isa faces workforce shortages, limited mental health services, and complex social issues. However, it also benefits from strengths like the structured collaborative, cross-agency Mount Isa Educational Precinct model. With a significant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student population (ranging from 21%-70% of each school’s student population), adapting the MHiPS model is critical to ensure cultural relevance as well as alignment with Queensland’s education policies, school-based wellbeing frameworks, and the needs of remote communities. 

A participatory action research approach (PAR) will be used for the codesign process to adapt the MHiPS model to the needs of the Mount Isa community. The feasibility evaluation will assess the feasibility, acceptability, and appropriateness of the adapted MHiPS model, through survey collection and focus groups. 

This work will contribute to expanding knowledge on how to adapt and deliver MHiPS in remote, culturally diverse settings, ensuring the model remains sustainable and impactful as it expands into new contexts and jurisdictions.  

Co-design of adaptations to the MHiPS model, training program and evaluation commenced in March 2025, with implementation of MHiPS in Mount Isa schools due to commence in Term 3, 2025.