Abstract
AimPrimary mental health care services play an important role in prevention and early intervention efforts to reduce the prevalence and impact of mental health problems amongst young people. This paper aimed to (1) investigate whether mental health services commissioned by Australia’s 31 Primary Health Networks provided accessible care and increasingly reached children and youth across Australia, and (2) identify the challenges of, and facilitating factors to, implementing services for youth with, or at risk of, severe mental illness (i.e., youth enhanced services) in 10 PHNs which acted as mental health reform leaders (i.e., Lead Sites).MethodsWe used mixed methods, sourcing data from: a national minimum data set that captured information on consumers and the services they received via all 31 PHNs from 1 July 2016 to 31 December 2017; consultations with Lead Site staff and their regional stakeholders; and observational data from two Lead Site meetings.ResultsMany children and youth receiving services were male and up to 10% were Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander young people. The majority of young people came from areas of greater disadvantage. For most children and youth receiving services their diagnosis was unknown, or they did not have a formal diagnosis. Both child and youth service uptake showed a modest increase over time. Six key themes emerged around the implementation of youth enhanced services: service access and gaps, workforce and expertise, funding and guidance, integrated and flexible service models, service promotion, and data collection, access and sharing.ConclusionsEarly findings suggest that PHN-commissioned services provide accessible care and increasingly reach children and youth. Learnings from stakeholders indicate that innovative and flexible service models in response to local youth mental health needs may be a key to success.
Highlights
Child and youth mental health problems are an important global public health concern, affecting 10–20% of young people worldwide [1]
This paper aimed to (1) investigate whether mental health services commissioned by Australia’s 31 Primary Health Networks provided accessible care and increased reach to children and youth across Australia, and (2) identify the challenges of, and facilitating factors to, implementing services for youth with, or at risk of, severe mental illness in 10 PHNs which acted as mental health reform leaders (i.e., Lead Sites)
Data sources Routinely collected data We used data from consumers who had one or more service sessions recorded between 1 July 2016 and 31 December 2017. These data were collected via the following purposedesigned web-based minimum datasets, into which service providers and PHNs enter de-identified data: The Primary Mental Health Care minimum data set (PMHC MDS, for services since 1 July 2017), the Access to Allied Psychological Services (ATAPS) minimum data set and the headspace dataset
Summary
Child and youth mental health problems are an important global public health concern, affecting 10–20% of young people worldwide [1]. Child and youth mental health in Australia Young people typically include those aged 10–24 years (according to the World Health Organisation) or a subgroup within this cohort. There are various terms to refer to young people of different ages which are often used interchangeably and inconsistently. Other terms may include children (typically under 18 or younger), adolescents, young adults or youth. The headspace National Youth Mental Health Foundation and the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation focus their mental health advocacy, research and/or service activities on young people aged 12–25 years. Throughout this paper we refer to ‘young people’ as those aged 0–25 years old, ‘children’ as those aged 0–11 years and ‘youth’ as those aged 12–25 years
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