The who, why, what, where and when of primary youth mental health care: The 5W research program

headspace, Australian National Youth Mental Health Foundation has been an international pioneer for primary health care for young people with mental ill health. Recent policy and system design analyses have emphasized the importance of identifying and responding to the needs of headspace clients whose needs may not be appropriately served by the current headspace model. In particular, these analyses have highlighted the need to identify where less intensive care options may be appropriately provided and to provide more intensive supports to young people with more complex needs. headspace, Orygen, and the Productivity Commission have highlighted the need headspace to moved towards a stepped or staged care model in order to be able to better identify the different needs of young people with mental ill health. The overall purpose of this timely research program (referred to as the 5W program) is to develop acceptable, equitable and efficient strategies to improve the reach
and effectiveness of the headspace early intervention model. This research program has four aims. The first aim is to identify subgroups of young people based on their clinical and service needs and identify treatment gaps. The second aim is to validate those subgroups through stakeholder engagement. The third aim is to undertake economic modelling to simulate alternative service configurations and compare for acceptability, equity and value for money. The final aim pertains to translation into policy and practice. The strengths of the 5W research program include the strong partnerships between primary and tertiary mental health care and acute/emergency response, as well as the use of modern statistical techniques to ensure that we can inform the development of an enhanced headspace model that meets the needs of young Australians with mental ill health.