From Silos to Synergy: Insights From Health Professionals on Integrating Youth Mental Health Care

BACKGROUND: Over the last two decades, integrated mental health services for youth aged 12-25 have expanded globally to enable young people to access comprehensive age-appropriate care. This study examined the barriers and facilitators of integrated care from the perspective of health practitioners and service providers. METHOD: In total, 45 service managers and practitioners who work with young people aged 12-25 years participated in interviews investigating the barriers and enablers of integrated youth mental health care. Themes were identified through inductive analysis and organised by overarching themes. RESULTS: Five overarching themes were identified: (i) continuity of care, referring to challenges associated with service fragmentation, navigation, and timely access to care; (ii) workforce, referring to challenges impacting staff ability to provide integrated care; (iii) information exchange, referring to areas to improve communication of patient information; (iv) financing, referring to supporting integrated care through core funding; and (v) leadership, referring to system- and service-level priorities impacting service delivery. CONCLUSION: Improving integrated youth mental health care entails a multi-level health system transformation. Strategies to achieve this are discussed in the context of the current results and emerging youth-specific frameworks for strengthening service integration and integrated care.