The Douglas Research Centre

Networks of integrated services are often presented as a major path of solution to increase efficiency, relevance and coherence of health systems especially in the current context of increasing demand and budgetary restraint. In the mental health field, integation also attempts to answer the numerous needs of a targeted population and more specifically, people with serious mental disorders. This article describes the markers of the concept of network of integrated services in mental health, the major strategies favoring development and models of regulation allowing their elaboration. The article discusses difficulties and stakes of this mode of organization and more particularly the challenges linked to implementation of change and transformation of systems.