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Mental health in primary care

Guest Editors:
Marisa Sklar: IN STEP Children’s Mental Health Research Center, UC San Diego ACTRI Dissemination and Implementation Science Center (DISC), Child & Adolescent Services Research Center (CASRC), University of California San Diego, San Diego, United States
Courtney Benjamin Wolk: Penn Center for Mental Health in the Department of Psychiatry, Mental Health Implementation Research at the Penn Implementation Science Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States


BMC Primary Care has published this Collection on Mental health in primary care. This Collection explores the multifaceted aspects of mental health within primary care settings and provides insights into effective strategies for improving mental health outcomes.



New Content ItemThis collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being and SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities.

Meet the Guest Editors

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Marisa Sklar: IN STEP Children’s Mental Health Research Center, UC San Diego ACTRI Dissemination and Implementation Science Center (DISC), Child & Adolescent Services Research Center (CASRC), University of California San Diego, San Diego, United States

Marisa Sklar is an Assistant Professor, licensed clinical psychologist, and experienced program evaluator at UC San Diego in the Department of Psychiatry. She has received funding through NIH, NIDA, NINR, NIMH, AHRQ, and VA HSRD, and has led multiple evaluation contracts, to use mixed quantitative and qualitative methodologies to assess the impacts of multiple healthcare models and systems on patient, provider, organization, and system-level outcomes. Her research and evaluation work has explored ways in which integrated primary care settings can prioritize evidence-based practices, and mental health recovery, particularly through the alignment of leadership across levels of an organization or service-system.
 

Courtney Benjamin Wolk: Penn Center for Mental Health in the Department of Psychiatry, Mental Health Implementation Research at the Penn Implementation Science Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States

Courtney Benjamin Wolk is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, the Associate Director of the Penn Center for Mental Health in the Department of Psychiatry, and the Director of Mental Health Implementation Research at the Penn Implementation Science Center. She is a licensed clinical psychologist and an implementation scientist. The long-term goal of her research is to develop and evaluate strategies to promote the uptake of evidence-based care into routine practice, with the ultimate goal of improving the effectiveness of mental health services for children and adults in non-specialty mental health settings.

About the collection

BMC Primary Care has published this Collection on Mental health in primary care. 

This Collection explores the multifaceted aspects of mental health within primary care settings and provides insights into effective strategies for improving mental health outcomes.

Mental health is a critical component of well-being, and its impact on individuals, families, and communities cannot be underestimated. Primary care plays a crucial role in addressing mental health issues, serving as the first point of contact for many individuals seeking healthcare services. This Collection explores the various aspects of mental health care provision within primary care, including screening and early detection, treatment and management, health promotion and prevention, and collaboration and interdisciplinary care strategies.

This Collection welcomed research that contributes to our understanding of mental health care provision in a primary care setting, including research related to:

  • The integration of mental health services into primary care, including health policy and system-level approaches
  • Early detection and screening 
  • Evidence-based treatment and management strategies
  • Health promotion and prevention strategies 
  • Collaborative and interdisciplinary care models for mental health care
  • The role of digital health and technology in supporting mental health care
  • Addressing disparities and improving access to mental health services in primary care
  • Understanding patient, family, caregiver, and healthcare provider experiences and perspectives of mental health services in primary care
  • Training and education for primary care providers for managing mental health 


This Collection aligns with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being (SDG3) and SDG10: Reducing Inequalities. By focusing on mental health within primary care, we aim to contribute to the promotion of universal health coverage, equitable access to quality healthcare services, and the reduction of mental health disparities.

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  2. People with diabetes, vascular disease, and asthma often struggle to maintain stability in their chronic health conditions, particularly those in rural areas, living in poverty, or racially or ethnically minor...

    Authors: Gretchen J. R. Buchanan, Jerica M. Berge and Timothy F. Piehler
    Citation: BMC Primary Care 2024 25:302
    Content type: Research Published on:

  3. Mental illnesses are common among children and negatively impact wellbeing during childhood as well as later in life. However, many children with these conditions are not able to access needed mental health ca...

    Authors: Lora Daskalska, Michelle Broaddus and Staci Young
    Citation: BMC Primary Care 2024 25:300
    Content type: Research Published on:

  4. Behavioral or mental health disorders are common in children, adolescents, and young adults. Medication use is increasingly common, with few data describing drug-drug combinations in ambulatory settings. The o...

    Authors: Laura M. Borgelt, Kathryn Bliss, Jacqueline Matson, Bosede Cajuste, Xiaoying Kuang, Monica Toohey, Wilson Pace, Eyal Shemesh, Suzanne Lo, Anna Olczyk, Kristine Gleason, Harold Pincus and Lawrence C. Kleinman
    Citation: BMC Primary Care 2024 25:276
    Content type: Research Published on:

  5. Individuals who die by suicide often consult their general practitioners (GPs) in their final weeks of life. The aim of this study was to gain a deeper knowledge of the clinical characteristics and GP assessme...

    Authors: Nina Palmqvist Öberg, Sara Probert Lindström, Erik Bergqvist, Anna Ehnvall, Tabita Sellin, Anne Stefenson, Charlotta Sunnqvist, Margda Waern and Åsa Westrin
    Citation: BMC Primary Care 2024 25:256
    Content type: Research Published on:

  7. Comprehensive, timely, and integrated primary care services have been proposed as a response to the increased demand for mental health and substance use services especially among young people. However, little ...

    Authors: Visa Väisänen, Outi Linnaranta, Timo Sinervo, Laura Hietapakka and Marko Elovainio
    Citation: BMC Primary Care 2024 25:238
    Content type: Research Published on:

  8. The caretaking process for older adults with depression and physical multimorbidity is complex. Older patients with both psychiatric and physical illnesses require an integrated and comprehensive approach to e...

    Authors: Laura Tops, Mei Lin Cromboom, Anouk Tans, Mieke Deschodt, Mathieu Vandenbulcke and Mieke Vermandere
    Citation: BMC Primary Care 2024 25:223
    Content type: Research Published on:

  9. The integration of mental health into primary care—i.e., the process by which a range of essential mental health care and services are made available in existing multipurpose health care settings that did not ...

    Authors: Erick Mukala Mayoyo, Faustin Chenge, Abdoulaye Sow, Bart Criel, Joris Michielsen, Kris Van den Broeck and Yves Coppieters
    Citation: BMC Primary Care 2024 25:214
    Content type: Research Published on:

  10. The General Practitioner (GP) is often the first professional contact for patients with depression. Depression care constitutes a substantial part of GPs’ workload.

    Authors: Ina Grung, Stefan Hjørleifsson, Norman Anderssen, Berit Bringedal, Sabine Ruths and Øystein Hetlevik
    Citation: BMC Primary Care 2024 25:184
    Content type: Research Published on:

  11. The deployment of the mental health nurse, an additional healthcare provider for individuals in need of mental healthcare in Dutch general practices, was expected to substitute treatments from general practiti...

    Authors: Jesper T. Dros, Christel E. van Dijk, Koen B.E. Böcker, Lotte C.J.A.F Bruins Slot, Robert A. Verheij, Bert R. Meijboom, Jan-Willem Dik and Isabelle Bos
    Citation: BMC Primary Care 2024 25:158
    Content type: Research Published on:

  12. Patients dealing with severe mental illnesses (SMI) often face suboptimal clinical outcomes and higher mortality rates due to a range of factors, including undetected physical health conditions. The provision ...

    Authors: Alexandra Brandt Ryborg Jønsson, John Brandt Brodersen, Susanne Reventlow, Christina Svanholm, Anne Møller and Marius Brostrøm Kousgaard
    Citation: BMC Primary Care 2024 25:96
    Content type: Research Published on:

  13. Different mental disorders may be associated with many work-related factors to which primary health care workers (PHCWs) are exposed. The current research aims to measure the rates of depression, anxiety, and ...

    Authors: Edris Kakemam, Katayoun Maassoumi, Somayeh Azimi, Madineh Abbasi, Fateme Tahmasbi and Mahasti Alizadeh
    Citation: BMC Primary Care 2024 25:40
    Content type: Research Published on:

Submission Guidelines

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This Collection welcomes submission of original Research Articles. Should you wish to submit a different article type, please read our submission guidelines to confirm that type is accepted by the journal. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select Mental health in primary care from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Guest Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Guest Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.