Integrated Care with Indigenous Populations: A Systematic Review of the Literature

The integration of behavioral health into medical care is related to positive results including improved patient health outcomes, provider satisfaction, and cost-offset. Indigenous people suffer from the highest health disparities in the nation and disproportionately experience barriers to health care; yet it is unknown if integrated care is effective for this population.

A systematic literature review was completed on the state of integrated care at Indigenous-serving health care sites in 2014 and was updated in 2016. Three databases were selected (Eric, Medline, and PsycInfo) and keywords pertaining to an Indigenous population and integrated care services (e.g., Native American, American Indian, or First Nations with integrated care, primary care, or family medicine) were used. After inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied, nine articles were selected out of the 2,889 articles found. Five additional articles were added in the 2016-update search. The selected articles were then evaluated using standards of integrated care.

The selected articles demonstrated wide-ranging and positive results including improved physical and mental health symptoms, reduced substance use, improvements in education and employment status, as well as a decreased involvement with the criminal justice system. It appears that interventions that additionally integrated culturally relevant health beliefs and practices experienced the largest gains in health outcomes.

Integrated care appears to be an intervention that can ameliorate these disparities by reducing stigma for those seeking care and providing coordinated care to prevent or reduce health care disparities in this population. While integrated care appears to be an effective system of care for Indigenous people, it must be noted that integration of local Indigenous health beliefs and practices is equally necessary.