Advancing community-based collaborative mental health care through interdisciplinary family health teams in Ontario

Abstract

Collaborative mental health care is a widely advocated model of community-based mental health care delivery. Previous work suggests that several contextual factors, such as the lack of stable funding for non-physician providers, have prevented widespread implementation of this model in Ontario. The introduction of interdisciplinary Family Health Teams (FHTs) as part of Ontario's primary health care renewal strategy presents an opportunity to overcome some of these barriers. This case study of emerging FHTs examines how contextual factors influence the mix of providers and quality of collaborative mental health delivery in FHTs. The findings inform policy-makers of opportunities to further develop community-based collaborative mental health care.