Journal article
Factors influencing triage decisions in mental health services
Margaret Grigg, Helen Herrman, Carol Harvey, Ruth Endacott
AUSTRALIAN HEALTH REVIEW | CSIRO PUBLISHING | Published : 2007
DOI: 10.1071/AH070239
Abstract
The aim of the study was to identify the factors influencing the timing of an assessment after contact with a triage program in a community-based area mental health service in Australia. Triage decisions apparently were influenced by several groups of factors: patient characteristics; the source and mode of the contact with triage; and to a large extent by mental health service factors including the training, supervision and support of triage workers and the perceived availability of an assessment. While demand factors such as patient characteristics influenced the triage decision, supply factors also played an important role.