Integrated care – panacea or white elephant? A review of integrated care approaches in Australia over the past two decades

This study aims to examine Australian research evaluating the effectiveness of integrated treatment approaches to provide insight into implications for future research and practice in integrated treatment.This narrative review examines Australian research evaluating empirical evidence of the effectiveness of integrated treatment approaches within specific populations and evidence from initiatives aimed at integrating care at the service or system level.Research conducted within the Australian context provides considerable evidence to support the effectiveness of integrated approaches to treatment, particularly for people with high prevalence co-occurring disorders or symptoms of these (i.e. anxiety and depression). These have been delivered through various modalities (including online and telephone-based services) to improve health outcomes in a range of populations. However, there is less evidence regarding the effectiveness of specific models or systems of integrated care, including for more severe mental disorders. Despite ongoing efforts on behalf of the Australian government, attempts to sustain system-level initiatives have remained hampered by structural barriers.Effective integrated interventions can be delivered by trained clinicians without requiring integration at an organisational or structural level. While there is still considerable work to be done in terms of building sustainable models at a system level, this evidence provides a potential foundation for the de...
Source: Advances in Dual Diagnosis - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Source Type: research