Feasibility and acceptability of measurement-based care and integrated service delivery: a mixed methods research...

While mental health and substance use challenges have been shown to most frequently emerge during adolescence and young adulthood, a significant portion of these youth experience barriers when attempting to access quality and timely care. The Integrated Youth Service (IYS) model of care aims to transform healthcare for youth by bringing together a broad array of service providers in low-barrier, accessible settings across Canada. Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario (YWHO) is the IYS network in Ontario and consists of Networks across the province that serve diverse youth aged 12-25. YWHO is founded on six core components that were developed based on youth-centred approaches to care, including integrated service delivery (ISD) and measurement-based care (MBC). Despite ample evidence promoting ISD and MBC, there remains a gap in identifying key implementation considerations and recommendations within IYS settings.

This study will use the Quality Implementation Framework and a mixed methods approach to understand the perspectives of youth, caregivers/family and service providers' experiences of ISD and MBC. Focus groups will be conducted with all participant groups to identify their perspectives on these two IYS core components. Group concept mapping will identify youth-friendly, higher-level conceptualisations of ISD and MBC. Quantitative data will be collected using the Service Provider Adopter and Innovation Characteristics Questionnaire (SPAICQ) and a Social Network Analysis approach. The study will use a Convergence Parallel Design (triangulation) as the primary integration strategy, where qualitative and quantitative data are collected concurrently and brought together during the interpretation phase. This will be supplemented by embedded sequential mixing where the outputs of one method (eg, focus groups) inform the design or analysis of another (eg, SPAICQ scores). Youth and caregivers/family members will be recruited through YWHO networks and youth advisory councils, and service providers will be recruited from YWHO Networks across the province.

This study has been approved by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health's (CAMH) Research Ethics Board (REB # 2023/030). Ongoing ethical approval will be maintained annually. As the study procedures are not greater than minimal risk, adverse events and/or serious adverse events are not expected. Findings from this study will be disseminated via publications in peer-reviewed journals, national and international conferences, regular briefings to interested parties and youth and family-friendly briefs through our networks and social media.