Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Sep 13;24(1):614.
doi: 10.1186/s12888-024-06067-6.

Discharge from secondary care services to primary care for adults with serious mental illness: a scoping review

Aubrey L W Davis  1 , Kennedy A Hamilton  1 , Jaclin A Vozza  2
Affiliations

Discharge from secondary care services to primary care for adults with serious mental illness: a scoping review

Aubrey L W Davis et al. BMC Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Background: Effective transitions of patients from Secondary Care Services (SCSs) to primary care are necessary for optimization of resources and care. Factors that enable or restrict smooth transitions of individuals with Serious Mental Illness (SMI) to primary care from SCSs have not been comprehensively synthesized.

Methods: A scoping review was conducted to answer the questions (1) "What are the barriers and facilitators to discharge from SCSs to primary care for adults with SMI?" and (2) "What programs have been developed to support these transitions?".

Results: Barriers and facilitators of discharge included patient-, primary care capacity-, and transition Process/Support-related factors. Patient-related barriers and facilitators were most frequently reported. 11 discharge programs were reported across the evidence sources. The most frequently reported program components were the provision of additional mental health supports for the transition and development of care plans with relapse signatures and intervention plans.

Conclusions: Established discharge programs should be comprehensively evaluated to determine their relative benefits. Furthermore, research should be expanded to evaluate barriers and facilitators to discharge and discharge programs in different national contexts and models of care.

Trial registration: The protocol for this scoping review is registered with the Open Science Framework ( https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/NBTMZ ).

Keywords: General practitioners; Mental health; Mental illness; Psychiatry; Transition.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Prisma flow diagram. PRISMA flow diagram outlining the research and article screening process including reasons for study exclusion
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Common components of identified discharge programs. Bar graph illustrating the frequency of common program components within the eleven programs that aim to facilitate discharge of individuals with SMI from SCSs to primary care
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Dieterich M, Irving CB, Bergman H, Khokhar MA, Park B, Marshall M. Intensive case management for severe mental illness. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2017;1(1):CD007906. - PMC - PubMed
    1. HealthCanada. Canada's Health Care System 2019, Sept 17 Available from: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/health-care-system/repor....
    1. NationalInstituteforHealthandCareExcellence. Glossary n.d. https://www.nice.org.uk/Glossary?letter=S.
    1. Crisp N, Smith G, Nicholson K. Old problems, new solutions: Improving acute psychiatric care for adults in England 2016 [ www.caapc.info
    1. Fletcher TL, Johnson AL, Kim B, Yusuf Z, Benzer J, Smith T. Provider perspectives on a clinical demonstration project to transition patients with stable mental health conditions to primary care. Translational Behav Med. 2021;11(1):161–71.10.1093/tbm/ibz172 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources