Client Outcomes Associated With Interprofessional Care in a Community Mental Health Outpatient Program

Interprofessional care (IPC) represents a high degree of collaboration among health professionals to provide comprehensive treatment to clients. Despite increased uptake of IPC in mental health care, few studies have examined its clinical effectiveness in actual practice. A retrospective cohort study examined the treatment outcomes for 183 outpatients with chronic and comorbid mental health difficulties treated with IPC in a community mental health setting. Multilevel modelling demonstrated that clients reported statistically significant improvement in mental health symptoms and functioning during IPC, relative to a waitlist interval. Furthermore, fewer clients reported clinically significant difficulty with symptoms and functioning over the course of treatment with IPC. Findings suggest that IPC may be an effective treatment in outpatient community mental health settings for Canadian adults presenting with chronic and comorbid psychopathology and affected psychosocial functioning.