A needs assessment for self-management services for adults awaiting community-based mental health services

High demand for services has resulted in lengthy waiting times being experienced across mental health services, both across Australia and internationally. Timely access to services is necessary to optimise the effectiveness of treatment, and prevent further mental health decline, risk of suicidality and hospitalisation for clients waiting for services to commence. The present study aims to better understand the experiences of individuals who are waiting for ongoing mental health services to commence and their preferences for additional support whilst on the waitlist, as a means to recommend alternative supports.

A link to the cross-sectional, anonymous survey was sent via text message to 2,147 clients of a mental health service, with a reminder text message sent approximately one week subsequent to those who did not opt out of the communication. Eligibility criteria included having been a client of the service in the previous 12 months, having spent time on the waiting list, being aged 16 or over and having sufficient English proficiency.

A total of 334 participants responded to the needs assessment survey, 277 (82.9%) of which resided in the metropolitan region and 57 (17.1%) residing in the country region. Of the respondents, the majority presented with generalised anxiety/panic attacks (n = 205, 61.4%), followed by life stressors (e.g., financial concerns, relationships, n = 196, 58.7%) and lack of motivation/loss of interest (n = 196, 58.7%). Most respondents (52.7%) waited 4-12 months for ongoing services to commence and almost half (47%) reported that their mental health deteriorated during this time. Of the additional support options, most participants expressed interest in additional mental health supports (78.4%, n = 262), such as telephone support and access to online materials. There was significant interest in other supports such as exercise support (57.4%, n = 192), sleep education (56.6%, n = 190) and healthy eating support (41%, n = 137).

Mental health services are experiencing significant waiting times, increasing the risk of mental health deterioration for persons waiting for services to commence. However, the findings demonstrate that there is interest for alternative support options, such as lifestyle interventions, in the interim. Desire for lifestyle support services, particularly in-person exercise programs and self-directed sleep, was especially high amongst the population of respondents within this study. Future work to rigorously develop and evaluate such lifestyle support services for mental health clients is warranted.