Literature Collection

Integration of behavioral health into pediatric primary care clinics is a recommended practice with potential to address the mental health needs of underserved children. We describe our process of integrating a behavioral health team into our hospital-based pediatric practice that serves a low-income, ethnically diverse, and underserved population of children and youth in the southeastern U.S. We provide a summary of our four-year program evaluation of feasibility and acceptability of embedding a behavioral health team in our practice. We also discuss the challenges faced, including staff turnover and difficulty with billing for sustainability. Finally, we provide recommendations for pediatric clinics that seek to integrate behavioral health care into their practices.

BACKGROUND: Integrated behavioral health in a primary care setting is a paradigm shift that requires academic reconfiguration on how health care professionals are educated and trained in the clinical arena. METHOD: An academic university was able to create interprofessional didactic and clinical learning experiences for students within the Schools of Nursing, Social Work, Health Professions-Rehabilitation Counseling Department and Pharmacy resulting in improved models for patient care delivery. RESULTS: Interdisciplinary faculty developed the didactic, clinical and evaluative areas based on the HRSA grant work plan. Deliverables included 18 modules, case studies focused on population health, and team-focused standardized patient experiences to test their behavioral health and psychiatric skills in a primary care setting. CONCLUSIONS: Faculty from the different disciplines were able to collaborate on the deliverables, take the opportunities to engage students and collaborate on scholarly presentations at a national, state and local professional organizations. Academic course for interprofessional practice has been developed and implemented as an outcome of this grant.