A new bottom-up method for the standard analysis and comparison of workforce capacity in mental healthcare planning: Demonstration study in the Australian Capital Territory

Abstract

The aims of this study are to evaluate and describe mental health workforce and capacity, and to describe the relationship between workforce capacity and patterns of care in local areas. We conducted a comparative demonstration study of the applicability of an internationally validated standardised service classification instrument—the Description and Evaluation of Services and Directories—DESDE-LTC) using the emerging mental health ecosystems research (MHESR) approach. Using DESDE-LTC as the framework, and drawing from international occupation classifications, the workforce was classified according to characteristics including the type of care provided and professional background. Our reference area was the Australian Capital Territory, which we compared with two other urban districts in Australia (Sydney and South East Sydney) and three benchmark international health districts (Helsinki-Uusima (Finland), Verona (Italy) and Gipuzkoa (Spain)). We also compared our data with national level data where available. The Australian and Finnish regions had a larger and more highly skilled workforce than the southern European regions. The pattern of workforce availability and profile varied, even within the same country, at the local level. We found significant differences between regional rates of identified rates of psychiatrists and psychologists, and national averages. Using a standardised classification instrument at the local level, and our occupational groupings, we were able to assess the available workforce and provide information relevant to planners about the actual capacity of the system. Data obtained at local level is critical to providing planners with reliable data to inform their decision making.

The Integrated Atlas of Dementia Care in the Australian Capital Territory: A Collective Case Study of Local Service Provision

“…Moreover, organisations often failed to provide supplementary information, such as workforce capacity data, in response to our follow-up inquiries, with response rates lower than those from mental health service providers. 42 Overall, service providers commonly offered website information alongside phone or email contact options for additional inquiries. However, they typically supplied a national number or email for all inquiries.…”

Patterns of mental healthcare provision in rural areas: A demonstration study in Australia and Europe

“…This study has several limitations. A demonstration study of the usability of DESDE-LTC to estimate the workforce capacity has been published elsewhere ( 47 ). As expected, the study areas, even though predominantly rural, have very different characteristics.…”

“…This study provides information on context and service provision that may inform, directly or through subsequent analyses, the management and planning of these study areas and help to overcome rural healthcare problems identified in the Orange Declaration ( 8 ). Future research will require extending the analysis of rural areas at state or country level, using this approach to analyze workforce capacity in rural areas ( 47 ), and conducting benchmark and efficiency analysis to improve care provision. This will require a long-term collaboration and engagement with public agencies, as it has been shown in urban and semi-urban care planning ( 48 ).…”

Analysis of the mental health service provision in Qatar: Progressing in community mental health in a Middle East country

“…This study presents several limitations. Even though DESDE-LTC has proven useful to estimate workforce capacity (27), our study did not focus on this aspect of healthcare. Furthermore, the lack of similar mental health service provision studies in the Middle East impeded the comparison of the Qatari care pattern with other countries of the EMRO Region.…”