Improving access to primary mental health care for Australian children

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This study examines the uptake by children aged predominantly 0-11 years of an Australian primary mental health service - the Access to Allied Psychological Services programme - which began in 2001. In particular, it considers access to, and use of, the child component of Access to Allied Psychological Services, the Child Mental Health Service, introduced in 2010. METHOD: Using routinely collected programme data from a national minimum dataset and regional population data, we conducted descriptive and regression analysis to examine programme uptake, predictors of service reach and consumer- and treatment-based characteristics of service. RESULTS: Between 2003 and 2013, 18,631 refe..