Lay summary
Mental health services are not equitably meeting the needs of the New Zealand population. Demand significantly outweighs availability, and at-risk demographics are unable to access the services that are available.
A new model of mental health treatment has been piloted over the past few years: Integrated practice teams in which a specially trained Health Improvement Practitioner (HIP) is placed within a primary care clinic to deliver a brief behavioural intervention that is based on Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (fACT).
We have conducted a series of interviews with practitioners which have shown that there are still challenges associated with how fACT is being delivered under the Integrated Practice model. We wish to continue to conduct research with HIPs and other healthcare professionals to better understand the challenges they face working within the Integrated Practice model to inform the development of a digital tool to support HIPs with treatment delivery.