New Zealand general practice nurses' roles in mental health care

Aim: To examine the roles of nurses in general practice interdisciplinary teams caring for people with mild to moderate mental health conditions. Background: Supporting mental health and well-being is an important aspect of primary care. Until now nurses in general practice settings have had variable roles in providing mental health care. The New Zealand Primary Mental Health Initiatives are 26 government-funded, time-limited projects using different service delivery models. Methods: An analysis was undertaken of a qualitative data set of interviews, which included commentary about nurses mental health work collected from the different project stakeholders throughout a 29-month external evaluation. Findings: Two main groups of roles for nurses within the general practice interdisciplinary team were identified: specialist mental health nurses working in newly created roles and practice nurses working in existing roles. Barriers exist to the development of the latter roles. Conclusions: Mental health care is a key role in general practice as this is where people frequently present. Internationally, nurses represent a large workforce with the potential to provide effective mental health care. This study found that attitudinal, structural and professional barriers are restricting New Zealand practice nurse role development in the care of those with mild to moderate mental health conditions. There is potential to develop their role within a structured pathway by workforce development and recognition of the value of interdisciplinary care. Given the shortage of mental health professionals this will be an important aspect of the improvement of primary mental health care.