A Mental Health Care Navigation Program for Older Adults: Scope of Practice and Patient Outcomes

BACKGROUND: Older adults with mental health (MH) issues often struggle to navigate a complex and fragmented healthcare system, leading to poorer outcomes. To address this, an acute care hospital in Ontario partnered with a community agency to develop an innovative MH Patient Navigation Program supporting older adults across the care continuum. Two Occupational Therapists were hired as Navigators. OBJECTIVE: A patient-tracking tool was codesigned to document patient characteristics, provided supports, and outcomes. METHODS: Using a cohort observational design, data were analyzed to describe patient demographics, referral reasons, complexity, navigator interventions, scope of practice, and program impact. FINDINGS: Patients were mostly female (58.5%) with a mean age of 71.7 years. Common MH conditions included mood disorders (31.4%), substance misuse (21.6%), anxiety (13.7%), and psychotic disorders (11.8%), with 41.1 per cent having a secondary MH condition. Navigators delivered multifaceted supports, with navigation, counselling, and home safety being most common. DISCUSSION: Findings highlight program value and areas for refinement.