Australasian Psychiatry • Vol 14, No 2 • June 2006 212 doi: 10.1111/j.1440-1665.2006.02279.x Australasian Psychiatry (2006) © 2006 Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists2006142••••Original Article Ethnic minority community patients and the Better Outcomes in Mental Health Care initiative Steven Klimidis, Harry Minas and Renata Kokanovic Objective: To compare general practitioners registered under the Better Outcomes in Mental Health Care initiative (BOiMHC) and those not reg- istered, in addressing mental disorders in members of ethnic minority communities (EMCs). Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 597 Melbourne met- ropolitan general practitioners, leading to 311 meeting criteria for having seen EMC patients with a mental disorder in the last 3 months. Compari- sons were made between those registered (n = 61) and those not registered (n = 205) within the BOiMHC on measures of difficulties in: accessing bilingual allied health, accessing interpreters, accessing translated materi- als, patient compliance, accessing guidelines for working effectively with interpreters, accessing guidelines on cultural and migration factors affecting mental health. Results: Significantly less of those registered in the BOiMHC endorsed problems of access to bilingual allied health, interpreters and translated materials compared with those not registered. No differences between groups were observed in relation to access to guidelines and patient compliance. Those registered with the BOiMHC reported significantly less problems than those not registered. The most prevalent problems of the full sample included lack of access to bilingual allied health (70%), access to translated materials (58%) and low EMC patient compliance with mental health assessment and treatment (64%). Conclusions: Possible impacts of the BOiMHC appear to be modest in relation to EMC patients with mental disorders. The BOiMHC may require additional strategies for its application to EMCs, especially for patient engagement in mental health assessment and treatment. There is a need for a more comprehensive evaluation of EMC issues within the BOiMHC. Key words: culture, ethnic minority group, general practice, mental health services. ental disorders contribute significantly to the disease burden in Australia. 1 While public mental health services have focused on severe mental disorders, common mental disorders such as depression require a significant increase in health resources if their pro- jected contribution to disease burden 1 is to be reduced. The review of the Second National Mental Health Strategy 2 has indicated a need to expand health resources to deal with the wider spectrum of psychological mor- bidity. The National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing has indi- cated that general practice is the most common source of help sought by those experiencing mental disorder. 3,4 An effective response from this sector requires it to have the capacity to provide accurate assessment, management and continuity of care in relation to mental disorders. The M Steven Klimidis Associate Professor and Coordinator of Post-Graduate Research, Centre for International Mental Health, School of Population Health, The University of Melbourne and Victorian Transcultural Psychiatry, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic., Australia. Harry Minas Associate Professor and Director, Centre for International Mental Health, School of Population Health, The University of Melbourne and Victorian Transcultural Psychiatry, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic., Australia. Renata Kokanovic Senior Research Fellow, Department of General Practice, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic., Australia. Correspondence: Steven Klimidis, Centre for International Mental Health, School of Population Health, University of Melbourne, Level 5/207 Bouverie St, Carlton, Vic. 3053, Australia. Email: s.klimidis@unimelb.edu.au PRIMARY CARE Australas Psychiatry Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZP) For personal use only.