The Integration of Flexible Assertive Community Treatment with District Social Support Service Teams for Patients with Severe Mental Illness in the Netherlands: A Qualitative Analysis of Team Members' Experiences.

INTRODUCTION

To promote recovery of individuals with severe mental illness and reduce fragmentation of care, network partners collaborated to develop a cross-domain, multi-agency approach by integrating Flexible Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) teams with municipal District Social Services (DSS), referred to as FACT+DSS teams.

AIM: To describe how team members experienced the implementation of the FACT+DSS teams by team members, including perceived effects on various themes such as service delivery, network collaboration, the target population, and facilitators and barriers to implementation.

METHODS

A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews (N = 15) was conducted to explore the experiences of team members in two new FACT+DSS teams in the Netherlands using thematic analysis.

RESULTS

The FACT+DSS approach was experienced to improve service access, continuity of care, case-finding and client enrolment (care-avoiders), time efficiency for team members, and strengthen network collaboration. Identified barriers and facilitators underlined the importance of strong leadership, ownership, equality, direct relationships, and professional expertise.

CONCLUSION

Participants experienced the FACT+DSS approach as a highly positive development, improving network collaboration and recovery-oriented care for clients. Our findings may contribute to the development and implementation of FACT (and related practices) as an integrated multi-agency approach.