Advancing Integrated Care for Youth: The Role of Family Physicians in an Urban, Multidisciplinary Service

Integrated Youth Services (IYS) are increasingly implemented across Canada to address the intersecting mental, physical and social needs of young people, yet the integration of primary care within IYS remains under-documented. This article presents a qualitative, practice-based case study of Aire ouverte Montréal-Métro Berri, an urban IYS site where family physicians have been embedded as permanent members of a multidisciplinary team since 2022. Serving diverse youth aged 12-25 in a downtown context, this site offers an exemplar of integrating family medicine within a publicly funded youth service model. Drawing on an ongoing evaluation, the paper describes the implementation model, roles of family physicians and enabling organizational conditions, based on document analysis and perspectives from clinicians, managers and team members. Findings highlight how co-location, collaborative practices, shared care planning and flexible administrative arrangements supported the integration of family physicians. Reported impacts include timely access to primary and mental healthcare, improved care coordination, enhanced team capacity to manage risk and earlier engagement of youth who might otherwise not access services or access care through crisis-driven pathways. This case offers transferable insights into integrating family physicians within IYS, at a time of rapid national scaling and persistent challenges in youths' access to primary care.