Intentional teams in rural health care: a preliminary report
1Total Health and Education Foundation, Warwick, QLD, Australia. jgudkovs@bigpond.com
Objective:
This paper reports on how private practitioners were engaged in a rural community in an intentional team to provide a comprehensive lifestyle program for "hard to treat" patients with physical and mental health problems.
Methods:
A field trial of a 12-week program for patients with depression or anxiety plus other chronic disease was delivered by a team of allied health practitioners.
Results:
Significant improvements in mental health as measured by DASS and SF36 were achieved.
Conclusions:
Utilizing community resources effectively can lessen the burden on other aspects of the health care system.
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