Effectiveness of embedding a specialist preventive care clinician in a community mental health service in increasing preventive care provision: A randomised controlled trial.

Objective: Clinical practice guidelines recommend that community mental health services provide preventive care for clients' chronic disease risk behaviours; however, such care is often not routinely provided. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of offering clients an additional consultation with a specialist clinician embedded within a community mental health service, in increasing client-reported receipt of, and satisfaction with, preventive care.

Method: A randomised controlled trial was undertaken in one Australian community mental health service.

Evaluating the effectiveness of a healthy lifestyle clinician in addressing the chronic disease risk behaviours of community mental health clients: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Background: People with a mental illness experience a greater morbidity and mortality from chronic diseases relative to the general population. A higher prevalence of modifiable health risk behaviours such as smoking, poor nutrition, physical inactivity and harmful alcohol consumption contribute substantially to this disparity. Despite clinical practice guidelines recommending that mental health services routinely provide care to address these risk behaviours, the provision of such care is consistently reported to be low internationally and in Australia.