Developing a National Consensus on the Accessibility Needs of Older Adults with Concurrent and Chronic, Mental and Physical Health Issues: A Preliminary Framework Informing Collaborative Mental Health Care Planning

Abstract

Canada faces a significant challenge in meeting the health care needs of older adults with complex mental and physical health issues. Studies have shown collaborative mental health services to effectively address the diverse health needs of this group. However, an often overlooked yet important aspect of service delivery planning for this population is to ensure that older adults are sufficiently able to access available best-practice services. The article reports on a national consensus-building exercise conducted by the Collaborative Mental Health Initiative-Seniors Working Group to develop a nationally informed framework on the accessibility needs of older adults as they relate to collaborative mental health care. The framework is intended to provide planners, administrators, and providers with an understanding of the unique accessibility needs of older adults across three priority pillars (personal, caregiver, systemic) and to enable them to embed strategies to address these issues within field-based collaborative mental health initiatives.