Link-me: Protocol for a randomised controlled trial of a systematic approach to stepped mental health care in primary care

S Fletcher; P Chondros; VJ Palmer; ML Chatterton; MJ Spittal; C Mihalopoulos; A Wood; M Harris; P Burgess; B Bassilios; J Pirkis; J Gunn

Journal article

Link-me: Protocol for a randomised controlled trial of a systematic approach to stepped mental health care in primary care

S Fletcher, P Chondros, VJ Palmer, ML Chatterton, MJ Spittal, C Mihalopoulos, A Wood, M Harris, P Burgess, B Bassilios, J Pirkis, J Gunn

Contemporary Clinical Trials | ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC | Published : 2019

DOI: 10.1016/j.cct.2018.12.014

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Abstract

Primary care in Australia is undergoing significant reform, with a particular focus on cost-effective tailoring of mental health care to individual needs. Link-me is testing whether a patient-completed Decision Support Tool (DST), which predicts future severity of depression and anxiety symptoms and triages individuals into care accordingly, is clinically effective and cost-effective relative to usual care. The trial is set in general practices, with English-speaking patients invited to complete eligibility screening in their general practitioner's waiting room. Eligible and consenting patients will then complete the DST assessment and are randomised and stratified according to predicted sym..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Patty Chondros Author

Victoria J Palmer Author

Matthew Spittal Author

Bridget Bassilios Author

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Grants

Awarded by National Health and Medical Research Council

Funding Acknowledgements

Link-me is funded by the Australian Commonwealth Department of Health, who also assisted to refine the study design and provided approval of both protocol itself and the submission of this manuscript for publication. The funders will have no role in the collection or analysis of data.