Providing Integrated Mental Health Services: A Policy and Management Perspective

2005 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 351-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Callaly ◽  
Anna Fletcher

Objective: To review the challenge of providing integrated mental health services from a policy and health management perspective. Conclusions: The provision of integrated mental health services involving specialist mental health services, general practitioners, psychiatric disability and rehabilitation services and public community health services is a major challenge in the Australian health care context and is increasingly an expectation of the community. Government, Divisions of General Practice and public community health policy and many Government, State and local initiatives have attempted to address this challenge. However, much remains to be done, including culture change within services and professions and the development of technology to support integrated service provision.

1993 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 193-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Sims

This is a personal view on the implications for mental health services of the Executive Letter of the National Health Service Management Executive (NHSME), published in July 1992 (EL (92) 48): ‘Guidance on the extension of the Hospital and Community Health Services elements of the GP Fundholding Scheme from 1st April, 1993’.


Author(s):  
Ahmad Hajebi ◽  
Vandad Sharifi ◽  
Maryam Abbasinejad ◽  
Ali Asadi ◽  
Nahid Jafari ◽  
...  

Objective: The main objective of this study was to review aspects of the current situation and structure of the integrated mental health care services for planning a reform. Aspects of the newly designed infrastructure, along with specification of duties of the various human resources, and its relation with Iran’s Comprehensive Mental and Social Health Services (the SERAJ Program), will also be presented Method: This is a study on service design and three methods of literature review, deep interview with stakeholders, and focused group discussions. In the literature review, national and international official documents, including official reports of the World Health Organization (WHO) and consultant field visits, were reviewed. Deep semi-structured interviews with 9 stakeholders were performed and results were gathered and categorized into 3 main questions were analyzed using the responsibility and effectiveness matrix method. The Final results were discussed with experts, during which the main five-domain questions were asked and the experts’ opinions were observed. Results: In this study, the main gaps of the public mental health care (PHC) services in Iran were identified, which included reduction of risk factors for mental disorders, training the general population, early recognition and treatment of patients with mental disorders, educating patients and their families, and rehabilitation services. The new model was then proposed to fill these gaps focusing on increasing access, continuity of care, coordination in service delivery, and comprehensiveness of care. A mental health worker was placed besides general healthcare workers and general practitioners (GPs). Services were prioritized and the master flowchart for mental health service delivery was designed. Conclusion: A reform was indeed necessary in the integrated mental health services in Iran, but regarding the infrastructure needed for this reform, including human and financial resources, support of the senior authorities of the Ministry of Health (MOH) is necessary for the continuity and enhancement of services. In this model, attention has been given to the principles of integrating mental health services into primary health care. Current experience shows that the primary health care system has been facing many executive challenges, and mental health services are not exclusion to this issue. Monitoring and evaluation of this model of service and efforts for maintaining sustainable financial resources is recommended to make a reform in this system and to stabilize it.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. e001388
Author(s):  
Jenna Palladino ◽  
Deirdra Frum-Vassallo ◽  
Joanne D Taylor ◽  
Victoria L Webb

BackgroundIntegration of mental health services allows for improved prevention and management of chronic conditions within the primary care setting. This quality improvement project aimed to increase adherence to and functioning of an integrated care model within a patient-centred medical home. Specifically, the project focused on improving collaboration between Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PC-MHI) and the medical resident Patient Aligned Care Teams (PACT) at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Northport,New York (VAMC Northport).MethodThe project used increased education, training and relationship building among the medical resident PACTs, and the establishment of regularly occurring integrated team meetings for medical and mental health providers. Education of residents was measured with a self-assessment pre-training and post-training, while utilisation was measured by the percentage of patients currently on a PACT’s panel with at least one PC-MHI encounter in the last 12 months (known in VAMC Northport as PACT-15 metric).ResultsTwo resident PACTs that received both training and weekly integrated meetings increased their utilisation of integrated mental health services by 3.8% and 4.5%, respectively. PACTs that participated in training only, with no regular meetings, showed an initial improvement in utilisation that declined over time.ConclusionsTraining alone appeared beneficial but insufficient for increased integration over time. The addition of a regularly occurring integrated weekly meeting may be a critical component of facilitating sustained mental health integration in a primary care medical home model.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chinenye Nmanma Nwoke ◽  
Udoka Okpalauwaekwe ◽  
Hauwa Bwala

BACKGROUND There is a significant body of evidence on the link between migration and mental health stressors. However, there has been very little research on the use of mental health services by immigrants in Canada. The prevalence of mental health professional consultations among immigrants, as well as its correlations, are not well understood and remain largely unknown. OBJECTIVE This study aims to examine how specialist mental health visits (to a psychiatrist) differ from general mental health visits (to a family doctor or general practitioner) from immigrants, when compared to visits from those born in Canada, in a nationally representative sample of Canadian adults. This study also examines which group—immigrant or Canadian-born—suffers more from depression or anxiety, 2 of the more common mental health conditions. METHODS We used data from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) between the years 2015 and 2016. The outcome variables included consultation with any mental health professional, consultation with a specialist (psychiatrist), and the prevalence of mood and anxiety disorders. The independent variable was immigrant status. Other variables of interest were adjusted for in the analyses. Multilevel regression models were developed, and all analyses were performed with Stata IC statistical software (version 13.0, StataCorp). RESULTS The prevalence of mood and anxiety disorders was significantly lower among immigrants compared with individuals born in Canada; the prevalence of mood disorders was 5.24% (389,164/7,422,773) for immigrants vs. 9.15% (2,001,829/21,885,625) for individuals born in Canada, and the prevalence of anxiety disorders was 4.47% (330,937/7,410,437) for immigrants vs. 9.51% (2,083,155/21,898,839) for individuals born in Canada. It is expected that individuals with a lower prevalence of mood or anxiety disorders would use mental health services less frequently. However, results show that immigrants, while less likely to consult with any mental health professional (OR=0.80, 95% CI 0.72-0.88, <i>P</i>&lt;.001), were more likely to consult with a psychiatrist (OR=1.24, 95% CI 1.04-1.48, <i>P</i>=.02) for their mental health visits when compared to individuals born in Canada. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study reveal an unusual discord between the likelihood of mental health professional consultations with any mental health professional and mental health visits with psychiatrists among immigrants compared to nonimmigrants in Canada. Mental health initiatives need to be cognizant of the differences in the associated characteristics of consultations for immigrants to better tailor mental health services to be responsive to the unique needs of immigrant populations in Canada.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 297-304
Author(s):  
Shahrooz Rahbari ◽  
Leila Riahi ◽  
Jamaleddin Tabibi

Introduction: Having mental health is necessary for the growth and prosperity of humans and as a result of the growth of societies.Objectives: The purpose of this study was to design a mental health management model in Iran.Methods: In this exploratory study, a review study was first performed to analyze the current state of mental health services in Iran and the world. Countries were selected to compare mental health management with Iran in 6 domains. 311 faculty members with mental health were completed by completing a questionnaire with 50 items in the study. Using the factor analysis, the final model was explained. Results: The effective domains in Iranian mental health services management were named in 8 areas: Mental Health in Particular, Key Centers and Task-Shifting, Human Resources and Specialists Training, Psychological Services for Children and Adolescents, Financial Resources and Hospital Services, Mental Health in PHC and Primary medical services, Policy-Making and Human Rights, Monitoring and Control, Community-Based Services. Conclusions: The proposed model of mental health services management in Iran consists of 8 domains, which is a comprehensive and multidimensional concept. Paying attention to its factors can lead to the successful management of mental health services in Iran.


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