Building GP capability in workplace mental health
28 September 2022
One in 10 active workers compensation claims in NSW are for a psychological injury.
People with a work-related psychological injury experience poorer recovery and return to work outcomes than people with physical injuries.
GPs play a central role in the diagnosis, treatment and care of people with work-related mental health conditions.
Identifying poor mental health and initiating evidence-based approaches to management can significantly enhance their patient’s recovery and return to work outcomes.
To respond to a need expressed by GPs and to help them better diagnose and manage work-related mental health conditions, SIRA is partnering with other compensation schemes in the Implementing work-related Mental health guidelines in general PRacticE (IMPRovE) trial.
The IMPRovE trial seeks to help GPs implement NHMRC endorsed clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and management of work-related mental health conditions in general practice.
The guidelines were developed by Professor Danielle Mazza, Chair of General Practice at Monash University and a working GP in Melbourne, and her team.
It is expected that implementation of the guidelines will improve care of work-related mental health conditions, worker health, and return to work outcomes.
Investing in health provider capability has been an important part of SIRA’s response to psychological injury claims.
Professor Danielle Mazza on IMPRovE
Professor Mazza is passionate about building GP capability in responding to work-related mental health conditions.
“GPs are key players in workplace injuries because they are the first point of contact, they are the trusted advisers of our patients and our patients want us to deliver the best kind of care when they’re dealing with difficult health issues,” Professor Mazza said.
“Part of the reason I do research is I want to answer the clinical questions that I struggle with in my practice. Work related mental health is a very challenging area for us in general practice, so the whole body of work that sits behind this trial is driven by that.
“We had done some work early on looking at GP management of workplace injury and the whole process of GPs working in compensation scheme requirements. When we talked to GPs about their experiences diagnosing and managing people with workplace injuries, they kept talking about mental health injuries being particularly problematic for them.
“GPs said there wasn’t much guidance available to them in relation to how to approach the clinically challenging areas of making a diagnosis and how they could help their patients and what the best practice was. So we sought the support of compensation schemes around the country to develop guidelines for GPs in these areas. There was unanimous support for this and everyone reckoned that was a great idea.”
One of those funders approached was SIRA. “It’s been quite a long-term collaboration with SIRA together with the other schemes. They bring the experience of what works because they hold all the data,” Professor Mazza said.
Approximately 100 GPs are involved in the IMPRovE trial. The trial is using a number of methods to support and assess GPs implementation of the guidelines, including academic detailing and participation in an online community of practice.
SIRA forms part of the steering committee that will consider the results of the trial and help decide the next steps, including a broader roll out to GPs, after the trial concludes in November 2022.
“GPs really want to do the best for their patients and it’s really important for compensation schemes to resource them and give them access to high quality information and build capacity within general practice to deal with these issues,” Professor Mazza said.
SIRA’s involvement in the IMPRovE trial is part of a broader investment in building the capability of healthcare providers, including GPs, workplace rehabilitation providers and allied health providers, to support early intervention and tailored, person-specific treatment of psychological injuries.