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Mental Health

• MODELS OF MENTAL HEALTH DELIVERY: EFFICACY, SUPPORT AND POLICY 1 Page led by Helen Christensen
  
  Depression and anxiety are common mental disorders often managed in primary health care and community settings. The primary health care sector in Australia is facing a number of challenges in managing mental health care - the big five - quality, access, continuity, cost and workforce are major issues. This review shows a number of primary health care approaches ‘work’ in reducing symptoms of depression, including approaches within general practice settings and in community organisations.
  
  
  • Key Findings/Policy options (3 pages)
  • Full Systematic Review

  Helen Christensen and Kathleen Griffiths were recipients of an APHCRI Linkage and Exchange Travelling Fellowship. Summary report.

• SUSTAINING AN ABORIGINAL MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE PARTNERSHIP led by Jeffrey Fuller
  
  

  The Regional Aboriginal Integrated Social and Emotional (RAISE) Wellbeing program commenced in February 2003 as an Aboriginal mental health service partnership between one Aboriginal Health Service and three mainstream services: a community mental health team, a hospital mental health liaison, and an “outback” community counselling service. A case study method was used to describe the drivers (incentives for program development), linkage processes (structures and activities through which the partnership operated), and sustainability of the program.

• EXPLORATORY ECONOMIC ANALYSES OF TWO PRIMARY CARE MENTAL HEALTH PROJECTS: IMPLICATIONS FOR SUSTAINABILITY led by Jane Gunn
  

  This project evaluated an Internet-based psychological intervention supported by either general practitioners or psychologists (Panic Online), and a Primary-care Evidence-based Psychological-interventions (PEP) strategy which involves training GPs to deliver specific psychological interventions.
  
  
  

• RE-ORDER: AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE MANAGEMENT OF DEPRESSION IN GENERAL PRACTICE
  
  While depression is Australia's most common mental illness, little is known about how GPs treat it on the front line of Australian health. This three-year study will investigate the management of depression in general practice.

  The project led by Professor Jane Gunn from the Department of General Practice at Melbourne University. Professor Gunn's research, which is being conducted in partnership with a team of academics from Australia and the United Kingdom , will use a complex adaptive system framework to pinpoint the minimum specifications for effective primary mental health care. It will then seek to implement these methods in a general practice setting and monitor the impact on patients and practice.

• EXTENDING REORDER - TASMANIAN AND CROSS-CULTURAL COMPONENT led by Jane Gunn
  
  This study builds upon the existing Stream Three Re-order project, which aims to inform a change in the way we think about, organise and deliver depression care in Australian primary care in a way that is directly relevant to policy and practice. The Stream Five work addresses culture, equity, and crosses geographical boundaries.

• PRIMARY CARE MANAGEMENT OF COMORBID MENTAL HEALTH AND DRUG AND ALCOHOL PROBLEMS led by Helen Christensen
  
  This project aims to review the ways in which comorbid drug and alcohol disorders and the high prevalence disorders of anxiety and/or depression can best be managed in the Australian primary health care setting. The results of this work will add to the body of knowledge developed through our initial study which investigates which primary care models are most effective in the management of the high prevalence disorders of anxiety and depression.