Increasing Chronic Disease Preventive Care in Community Mental Health Services: Clinician-generated Strategies

Background: People with a mental health condition experience a high prevalence of chronic disease risk behaviours e.g., tobacco smoking and physical inactivity. Recommended 'preventive care' to address these risks is infrequently provided by community mental health services. This study aimed to elucidate, among community mental health managers and clinicians, suggestions for strategies to support provision of preventive care.

Methods: Three qualitative focus groups (n = 14 clinicians) were undertaken in one regional community mental health service to gather perspectives of barriers to preventive care provision, deductively coded against the domains of the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF). Drawing on the learnings from the focus groups, individual interviews (n = 15 managers and clinicians) were conducted in two services to identify suggestions for strategies to increase preventive care. Strategies were inductively coded and mapped into TDF domains.

Results: Barriers were identified across a wide range of TDF domains, most notably knowledge and environmental context and resources. Nine strategies were identified across three themes: training, resources and systems changes; mapping to all 14 TDF domains.

Conclusion: Future research seeking to increase implementation of preventive care may be guided by these findings. There is need for greater recognition and resourcing of preventive care as a priority and integral component of mental health treatment.