Primary Health Care

Primary Mental Health

Mental health is an important component of primary health care and approximately 20 percent of the general population experiences a mental disorder at any time. About 90 percent of people with a mild to moderate mental illness such as depression, anxiety and addictions are treated in primary health care settings.

The establishment of PHOs provided an opportunity for health providers to ensure that mental health services were an integral part of primary health care services. As part of their annual business plans, PHOs must specify how they aim to improve the mental health outcomes for their enrolled populations.

The PHOs: Service Development Toolkit for mental health services in primary health care (doc, 428kB) was developed as a resource for PHOs to assist them to build their capacity and capability to respond to the mental health needs that can be effectively managed in primary health care settings.

Following a Request for Proposals process run in 2004/05, the Ministry of Health is funding 41 PHOs through DHBs, to implement primary mental health initiatives and innovations projects. The Ministry is also funding an evaluation of the initiatives and innovations.

Read more about the evaluation

Page last updated: January 2007