Assessment of care provision integration in a community-based mental health system: balanced care model implementation in Andalusia (Spain).

Background: Andalusia is the second largest region in Spain, and it has developed a comprehensive mental health (MH) plan that encourages the consolidation of the balanced care model. However, its geographical and socioeconomic disparity is a great challenge for a community-based MH system. Both the assessment of the implementation of the MH plan and the development of new tools to support decision-making can be considered critical.

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.

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.

Analysis of the mental health service provision in Qatar: Progressing in community mental health in a Middle East country.

Background: Qatari health planning in the last decade aimed to make the transition from the traditional hospital-based psychiatric care to a community-based care, building an integrated and comprehensive mental health system. The objective of this study was to explore the mental health service provision in Qatar in 2018 and 2022. This time span coincided with two mental health plans (2013-2018 and 2019-2022) and one health plan (2018-2022).

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.

Magnitude of terminological bias in international health services research: a disambiguation analysis in mental health.

Aims: Health services research (HSR) is affected by a widespread problem related to service terminology including non-commensurability (using different units of analysis for comparisons) and terminological unclarity due to ambiguity and vagueness of terms. The aim of this study was to identify the magnitude of the terminological bias in health and social services research and health economics by applying an international classification system.

Methods: This study, that was part of the PECUNIA project, followed an ontoterminology approach (disambiguation of technical and scientific terms using a taxonomy and a glossary of terms).

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.

The Role of Developmental Assets in Gender Differences in Anxiety in Spanish Youth.

Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent psychological disorders during emerging adulthood. Some consistent gender differences have been reported in anxiety with women suffering more anxiety than men, which has detrimental consequences in most life spheres in the youth and later life stages. The understanding of the development of anxiety in emerging adulthood requires a developmental perspective.

Use of a decision support system for benchmarking analysis and organizational improvement of regional mental health care: Efficiency, stability and entropy assessment of the mental health ecosystem of Gipuzkoa (Basque Country, Spain).

Decision support systems are appropriate tools for guiding policymaking processes, especially in mental health (MH), where care provision should be delivered in a balanced and integrated way. This study aims to develop an analytical process for (i) assessing the performance of an MH ecosystem and (ii) identifying benchmark and target-for-improvement catchment areas. MH provision (inpatient, day and outpatient types of care) was analysed in the Mental Health Network of Gipuzkoa (Osakidetza, Basque Country, Spain) using a decision support system that integrated data envelopment analysis, Monte Carlo simulation and artificial intelligence.

Modelling the balance of care: Impact of an evidence-informed policy on a mental health ecosystem.

Major efforts worldwide have been made to provide balanced Mental Health (MH) care. Any integrated MH ecosystem includes hospital and community-based care, highlighting the role of outpatient care in reducing relapses and readmissions. This study aimed (i) to identify potential expert-based causal relationships between inpatient and outpatient care variables, (ii) to assess them by using statistical procedures, and finally (iii) to assess the potential impact of a specific policy enhancing the MH care balance on real ecosystem performance.

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.

Alcohol and Other Drug Service Availability, Capacity, and Diversity in Urban and Rural Australia: An Integrated Atlas.

Objective: Variation exists in the patterns of alcohol and other drug (AOD) use and related impacts across geographic locations and over time. Understanding the existing AOD service system and the local context that it operates within is fundamental to optimize service provision. This article describes and compares the availability, placement capacity, and diversity of AOD services in urban and rural regions in Australia.

Editors' Comments on the Special Issue "Social Determinants of Mental Health".

Mental disorders are one of the greatest public health concerns of our time, and they are affected by social factors. To reduce the considerable burden of mental disorders, more global and systematic knowledge of the social determinants of mental health is necessary. This paper presents the results of the 27 studies included in the Special Issue, "Social Determinants of Mental Health".

A Semiautomated Classification System for Producing Service Directories in Social and Health Care (DESDE-AND): Maturity Assessment Study.

Background: DESDE-LTC (Description and Evaluation of Services and DirectoriEs for Long-Term Care) is an international classification system that allows standardized coding and comparisons between different territories and care sectors, such as health and social care, in defined geographic areas. We adapted DESDE-LTC into a computer tool (DESDE-AND) for compiling a directory of care services in Andalucia, Spain.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the maturity of DESDE-AND.

[Everything is on the map: Integrated Mental Health Atlases as support tools for service planning. SESPAS Report 2020].

Objective: This article reviews the usability of the Integrated Atlases of Mental Health as a decision support tool for service planning following a health ecosystem research approach.

Method: This study describes the types of atlases and the procedure for their development. Atlases carried out in Spain are presented and their impact in mental health service planning is assessed.

The persistence of digital divides in the use of health information: a comparative study in 28 European countries.

Objectives: This study aimed to identify which are the socio-demographic factors that can describe health information users' profiles in Europe and assess which are the factors distinguishing users and non-users and their association with the use of health-related online information.

Methods: Data from the Flash Eurobarometer No. 404 (2014) was analysed through a multilevel logistic regression model and a propensity score matching.

Socioeconomic Inequalities in Health Through Lifestyles: Analysing Gender and Age Differences in Andalusia, Spain.

This research aims to analyse the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and self-rated health (SRH) through its relationship with lifestyle factors, as well as examining these effects stratified by gender and age groups. A cross-sectional study was performed with a representative sample from Andalusia (Southern Spain) composed of 1200 adults. The study analysed several variables related to lifestyle (healthy diet, physical activity and tobacco and alcohol consumption) and SES (education and income), along with SRH.

A spatial analysis of referrals to a primary mental health programme in Western Sydney from 2012 to 2015.

Access to Allied Psychological Services is a primary mental health programme targeting hard-to-reach populations throughout Australia. This research aims to identify patterns of referrals to the programme in the Western Sydney Primary Health Network region from 2012 to 2015. The referral rates were analysed by using spatial autocorrelation indexes and spatial regression.

Standardised description of health and social care: A systematic review of use of the ESMS/DESDE (European Service Mapping Schedule/Description and Evaluation of Services and DirectoriEs).

Background: Evidence-informed planning and interpretation of research results both require standardised description of local care delivery context. Such context analysis descriptions should be comparable across regions and countries to allow benchmarking and organizational learning, and for research findings to be interpreted in context. The European Service Mapping Schedule (ESMS) is a classification of adult mental health services that was later adapted for the assessment of health and social systems research (Description and Evaluation of Services and DirectoriEs - DESDE).