Neami has developed and trialled Australia’s first physical health needs identification tool designed specifically for a community mental health setting.

The Neami Health Prompt is simple to use and flexible enough to fit a range of community and social service settings. Our team has also developed an Auslan video version of the resource.

The Health Prompt is available to others, in mental health and more widely, to improve health responses and outcomes for people with complex needs.

Background

We developed the Health Prompt in response to evidence that people with serious mental health issues also have increased rates of morbidity, increased rates of mortality and delayed diagnosis and treatment.

The Health Prompt encourages people to take control of their own health and builds the knowledge of staff. It draws on existing health information resources including: the One Minute Health Check, ReThink Health Check, Service Coordination Tool Templates, the Australian Alcohol Guidelines and Go for 2&5 Campaign.

Aims

The Health Prompt aims to:

• Improve physical health outcomes of consumers
• Increase regularity and quality of physical health checks
• Increase awareness of physical health issues and health check processes
• Improve consumer understanding and self-management of physical health issues
• Increase confidence of staff in providing physical health information and interventions
• Increase referral pathways and community links to physical health, nutritional and emotional/psychological support services
• Promote and support discussions around physical health
• Identify physical health gaps that consumers may need or want to address.

Practice and procedures

The Health Prompt is offered every six months. It is designed to prompt a health-related conversation between an individual and their support worker.

Support is offered to address unmet health needs. This may involve accessing other health services, providing health information or discussing goals or next steps.

Data from completed Health Prompts inform Neami National’s health promotion priorities across the country.

Systems support

An Information and Practice Guideline supports the implementation of the Health Prompt. This covers:

• Using the Health Prompt
• Best practice provision
• Providing follow-up
• Integrating the Health Prompt with support work
• Working with diversity.

All staff receive training in use of the Health Prompt, to ensure they have an understanding of the health issues raised and potential referral pathways.

Auslan translation

An Auslan translation of the Health Prompt was developed by our Darlinghurst team to facilitate health conversations with people who are deaf or hearing impaired.