An expert consensus to improve the physical health of people with severe mental illnesses in Europe

Abstract Background While various integrated care models have emerged to address the striking physical health inequalities faced by individuals with severe mental illnesses (SMI), existing evidence remains limited, and no clear consensus has been reached on best-practice models. In this context, this study, part of the European mental and physical health initiative for people with severe mental disorders (EU-MIND), aims at identifying an expert consensus on the most promising and acceptable integrated care models for people living with SMI across six participating European countries. Methods In the context of a lack of robust scientific evidence, we adopt a Delphi consensus method, widely used in public health to support decision-making in complex situations. The study engages a diverse panel of 240 participants, including individuals with lived experience of SMI, their relatives, health and social care professionals and policymakers in the six European countries contributing to the EU-MIND project. The Delphi process will involve three iterative rounds of online questionnaires, sent to participants in early Fall 2025. Questionnaires will present the attributes of existing integrated care models for people with SMI (in terms of service delivery, leadership and governance, workforce, financing, and technologies and medical products) based on a taxonomy built through a scoping literature review. The participants will individually rank the relative importance of each attribute and will have access to the group response (“feedback”) between each round, to allow for reconsideration. The items will be presented again for evaluation until a consensus is reached. Expected findings and conclusions By prioritizing stakeholder perspectives and expert consensus, which will be available by the time of the conference, this study aims to inform the design of equitable, patient-centered organizational interventions to reduce physical health disparities among people with SMI in Europe.