What is the capability of the Australian mental health workforce to meet the needs of people with an intellectual disability and co-occurring mental ill health?

ABSTRACT

Background: People with intellectual disability experience elevated rates of mental ill health. Yet they face barriers in accessing appropriate individualised mental health care. Further research is required to learn about the capability of the mental health workforce to facilitate access and participation in quality mental health care for this group.

Methods: Thirty-three Australian intellectual disability mental health experts participated in four focus groups. The research team undertook thematic analysis applying a health care human rights framework known as the 3AQ Framework.

Results: The participants identified multiple barriers to the delivery of quality mental health care. These included the lack of clear career pathways, education, clinical skills, clinical guidelines, and negative attitudes held by some mental health professionals.

Conclusion: A comprehensive workforce development strategy is required to improve the capability of the mental health workforce to provide an available, accessible, acceptable and quality mental health services to people with intellectual disability.

KEYWORDS:

• Intellectual disability
• intellectual disability mental health
• lived experience
• mental health workforce
• access
• human rights framework

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Australian Government Department of Health for funding the National Roundtable on the Mental Health of People with an Intellectual Disability that made this data collection possible. We would also like to thank the individuals who participated in this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Janelle Weise https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0783-5898

Karen R. Fisher http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0828-6395

Julian N. Trollor https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7685-2977

Additional information

Funding

The work of the Chair Intellectual Disability Mental Health is supported by core funding from Family and Community Services NSW and the Mental Health Branch, NSW Ministry of Health.