From Silos to Synergy: Insights From Health Professionals on Integrating Youth Mental Health Care
Vilas Sawrikar, Sarah Leung, Michael Hodgins, Catherine McHugh, Oliver Ardill‐Young, Valsamma Eapen, Raghu Lingam, Jackie CurtisABSTRACT
Background
Over the last two decades, integrated mental health services for youth aged 12–25 have expanded globally to enable young people to access comprehensive age‐appropriate care. This study examined the barriers and facilitators of integrated care from the perspective of health practitioners and service providers.
Method
In total, 45 service managers and practitioners who work with young people aged 12–25 years participated in interviews investigating the barriers and enablers of integrated youth mental health care. Themes were identified through inductive analysis and organised by overarching themes.
Results
Five overarching themes were identified: (i) continuity of care , referring to challenges associated with service fragmentation, navigation, and timely access to care; (ii) workforce , referring to challenges impacting staff ability to provide integrated care; (iii) information exchange , referring to areas to improve communication of patient information; (iv) financing , referring to supporting integrated care through core funding; and (v) leadership , referring to system‐ and service‐level priorities impacting service delivery.
Conclusion
Improving integrated youth mental health care entails a multi‐level health system transformation. Strategies to achieve this are discussed in the context of the current results and emerging youth‐specific frameworks for strengthening service integration and integrated care.