Exploring pathways to mental healthcare for urban Aboriginal young people: a qualitative interview study.
Deanna KalucyJanice NixonMichael K ParvizianPeter FernandoSimone SherriffJennifer McMellonCatherine D'EsteSandra J EadesAnna WilliamsonPublished in: BMJ open (2019)
Participants desired screening tools, flexible guidelines and training for healthcare providers to support pathways to mental healthcare for Aboriginal young people. Both GPs and AHWs were considered key in identifying children at risk and putting young people onto a pathway to receive appropriate mental healthcare. AHWs were deemed important in keeping young people on the care pathway, and participants felt care pathways could be improved with the addition of dedicated child and adolescent AHWs. The ACCHSs were highlighted as essential to providing culturally appropriate care for Aboriginal young people experiencing mental health problems, and funding for mental health specialists to be based at the ACCHSs was considered a priority.