Mental Health Care Navigation Tools in Australia: Infoveillance Study.

Background: In response to the well-documented fragmentation within its mental health system, Australia has witnessed recently rapid expansion in the availability of digital mental health care navigation tools. These tools focus on assisting consumers to identify and access appropriate mental health care services, the proliferation of such varied web-based resources risks perpetuating further fragmentation and confusion for consumers. There is a pressing need to systematically assess the characteristics, comprehensiveness, and validity of these navigation tools, especially as demand for digital resources continues to escalate.

Evaluating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social and Emotional Wellbeing services: A collective case study in Far North Queensland.

Background: Access to a coordinated range of strengths-based, culturally appropriate community-led primary mental health and Social and Emotional Wellbeing services is critical to the mental health and wellbeing of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and is a policy commitment of the Australian government. However, complex and fragmented service networks and a lack of standardised service data are barriers in identifying what services are available and what care they provide.

Method: A standardised service classification tool was used to assess the availability and characteristics of Social and Emotional Wellbeing services for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in two regions in Queensland, Australia.

The Integrated Atlas of Dementia Care in the Australian Capital Territory: A Collective Case Study of Local Service Provision.

Background: This study evaluates the dementia care system in a local area and aimed to include all specialised services designed to provide health and social services to people with dementia or age-related cognitive impairment, as well as general services with a high or very high proportion of clients with dementia.

Methods: The study used an internationally standardised service classification instrument called Description and Evaluation of Services and DirectoriEs for Long Term Care (DESDE-LTC) to identify and describe all services providing care to people with dementia in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).

Results: A total of 47 service providers were eligible for inclusion.

Standardized Systematic Description of Provision of Care for Multiple Sclerosis at a Local Level: A Demonstration Study.

Background: This study evaluates and describes the pattern of services provided for people living with multiple sclerosis (MS) in a local area as a starting point for a more global assessment.

Methods: A health care ecosystem approach has been followed using an internationally standardized service classification instrument-the Description and Evaluation of Services and DirectoriEs for Long Term Care (DESDE-LTC)-to identify and describe all services providing care to people with MS in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Available services were classified according to the target population into those specifically dedicated to people living with MS and those providing general neurologic services, both public and private, and across both social and health sectors.

Patterns of mental health care provision in urban areas: A comparative analysis for local policy in the ACT.

Urbanisation presents specific mental health challenges, requiring a better understanding of service availability in urban areas for mental health care planning. Our objective is to analyse patterns of urban mental healthcare provision in Australia, and compare these with relevant national and international regions to inform urban mental healthcare policy and planning. Following a health ecosystems approach, we use a standardised service classification instrument, the Description and Evaluation of Services and DirectoriEs (DESDE), and Mental Health Care Atlases, to compare the availability, bed capacity and diversity of services providing specialised mental health or psychosocial care that are universally accessible (ie provided at no or low cost only in all relevant care sectors in four Australian and three international urban regions.

Patterns of mental healthcare provision in rural areas: A demonstration study in Australia and Europe.

Introduction: Mental healthcare systems are primarily designed to urban populations. However, the specific characteristics of rural areas require specific strategies, resource allocation, and indicators which fit their local conditions. This planning process requires comparison with other rural areas.

Patterns of service provision in child and adolescent mental health care in Australia.

Standard description of local care provision is essential for evidence-informed planning. This study aimed to map and compare the availability and diversity of current mental health service provision for children and adolescents in Australia. We used a standardised service classification instrument, the Description and Evaluation of Services and DirectoriEs (DESDE) tool, to describe service availability in eight urban and two rural health districts in Australia.

Regional evolution of psychosocial services in Australia before and after the implementation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

Objectives: This paper compares the evolution of the psychosocial sector in two Australian regions pre and post introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme - a major reform to the financing, planning and provision of disability services in Australia, intended to create greater competition and efficiency in the market, and more choice for service users.

Methods: We used a standardised service classification instrument based on a health ecosystems approach to assess service availability and diversity of psychosocial services provided by non-government organisations in two Primary Health Network regions.

Results: We identified very different evolutionary pathways in the two regions.

The role of geographic information system and global positioning system in dementia care and research: a scoping review.

Background: Geographic Information System (GIS) and Global Positioning System (GPS), vital tools for supporting public health research, provide a framework to collect, analyze and visualize the interaction between different levels of the health care system. The extent to which GIS and GPS applications have been used in dementia care and research is not yet investigated. This scoping review aims to elaborate on the role and types of GIS and GPS applications in dementia care and research.

A new bottom-up method for the standard analysis and comparison of workforce capacity in mental healthcare planning: Demonstration study in the Australian Capital Territory.

The aims of this study are to evaluate and describe mental health workforce and capacity, and to describe the relationship between workforce capacity and patterns of care in local areas. We conducted a comparative demonstration study of the applicability of an internationally validated standardised service classification instrument-the Description and Evaluation of Services and Directories-DESDE-LTC) using the emerging mental health ecosystems research (MHESR) approach. Using DESDE-LTC as the framework, and drawing from international occupation classifications, the workforce was classified according to characteristics including the type of care provided and professional background.

An ecosystems approach to mental health services research.

Mental health ecosystems research is an emerging discipline which takes a whole-systems approach to mental healthcare, facilitating analysis of the complex environment and context of mental health systems, and translation of this knowledge into policy and practice. Evidence from the local context is needed in the analysis of complex interventions and of geographic variations in the outcomes of care. Technical tools and support have been developed to gather and interpret evidence from the local context and translate it in a meaningful and relevant manner for planners and policy makers to guide their decision-making.

Use of geographical information systems in multiple sclerosis research: A systematic scoping review.

Introduction: Geographical information system (GIS) and spatial analysis have an emerging role in the understanding and management of health-related outcomes. However, there is a knowledge gap about the extent to which GIS has supported multiple Sclerosis (MS) research. Therefore, this review aimed to explore the types of GIS applications and the complexity of their visualisation in MS research.

Spatial-time analysis of cardiovascular emergency medical requests: enlightening policy and practice.

Background: Response time to cardiovascular emergency medical requests is an important indicator in reducing cardiovascular disease (CVD) -related mortality. This study aimed to visualize the spatial-time distribution of response time, scene time, and call-to-hospital time of these emergency requests. We also identified patterns of clusters of CVD-related calls.

Patterns of Service Provision in Older People's Mental Health Care in Australia.

Australia has a population of around 4 million people aged 65 years and over, many of whom are at risk of developing cognitive decline, mental illness, and/or psychological problems associated with physical illnesses. The aim of this study was to describe the pattern of specialised mental healthcare provision (availability, placement capacity, balance of care and diversity) for this age group in urban and rural health districts in Australia. The Description and Evaluation of Services and DirectoriEs for Long Term Care (DESDE-LTC) tool was used in nine urban and two rural health districts of the thirty-one Primary Health Networks across Australia.

Patterns of Mental Health Care in Remote Areas: Kimberley (Australia), Nunavik (Canada), and Lapland (Finland): Modèles de soins de santé mentale dans les régions éloignées: Kimberley (Australie), Nunavik (Canada) et Laponie (Finlande).

Objective: Mental health (MH) care in remote areas is frequently scarce and fragmented and difficult to compare objectively with other areas even in the same country. This study aimed to analyze the adult MH service provision in 3 remote areas of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries in the world.

Methods: We used an internationally agreed set of systems indicators, terminology, and classification of services (Description and Evaluation of Services and DirectoriEs for Long Term Care).

Service availability and capacity in rural mental health in Australia: Analysing gaps using an Integrated Mental Health Atlas.

Objective: Access to services and workforce shortages are major challenges in rural areas worldwide. In order to improve access to mental health care, it is imperative to understand what services are available, what their capacity is and where existing funds might be spent to increase availability and accessibility. The aim of this study is to investigate mental health service provision in a selection of rural and remote areas across Australia by analysing service availability, placement capacity and diversity.

Healthcare ecosystems research in mental health: a scoping review of methods to describe the context of local care delivery.

Background: Evidence from the context of local health ecosystems is highly relevant for research and policymaking to understand geographical variations in outcomes of health care delivery. In mental health systems, the analysis of context presents particular challenges related to their complexity and to methodological difficulties. Method guidelines and standard recommendations for conducting context analysis of local mental health care are urgently needed.

Organisational impact of the National Disability Insurance Scheme transition on mental health care providers: the experience in the Australian Capital Territory.

Objectives:: Concerns raised about the appropriateness of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in Australia for people with mental illness have not been given full weight due to a perceived lack of available evidence. In the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), one of the pilot sites of the Scheme, mental health care providers across all relevant sectors who were interviewed for a local Atlas of Mental Health Care described the impact of the scheme on their service provision.

Methods:: All mental health care providers from every sector in the ACT were contacted.