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Examining the delivery of mental health services in primary care and public health collaborations using a population health framework

University of British Columbia

Background: More than 6.7 million people in Canada experience a mental illness during a one-year period. Mental illnesses are highly influenced by the determinants of health, which are the social, economic, and physical environments that contribute to an individual’s health status. Addressing mental illnesses requires a population health approach involving joint action across multiple sectors to focus on the determinants of health. This thesis examines the extent to which Primary Care (PC) and Public Health (PH) collaborations incorporated a population health approach to address mental illnesses. Methods: A secondary analysis of data collected through a multi-province (British Columbia, Ontario, Nova Scotia) study that examined factors related to strengthening primary health care through PC and PH collaboration was conducted. Focus group data from four cases of PC-PH collaborations that addressed mental health were used to examine whether mental health activities incorporated a population health approach, as well as to identify the enablers and barriers to carrying out the activities. A qualitative descriptive approach and thematic analysis were used. A coding framework and themes were developed deductively, based on the Public Health Agency of Canada’s population health framework, and through inductive analysis. Results: Twenty-nine themes and eighteen subthemes were identified that correspond to the Public Health Agency of Canada’s population health framework. Key enablers included working in a multidisciplinary team, addressing the determinants of health, and engaging the community. Key barriers were poor data systems, a lack of service integration, and a lack of action on demonstrating accountability for outcomes. Conclusions: Findings highlighted the relevance of a population health approach and demonstrate that certain aspects of the population health framework are more actionable than others in the area of mental health, thus identifying areas for the framework’s further development. The research also identifies enablers and barriers to conducting mental health activities, offering guidance on how to facilitate population health implementation. The results could help provide insight at the program and policy levels for PC and PH as well as other sectors related to collaborative strategies that could strengthen the delivery of mental health services by incorporating a population health approach.

Text

2017-01-21

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/59989

Population and Public Health

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/