Partners in Recovery: A Case Study of a National Support Coordination Program for People with Severe and Persistent Mental Illness

Objective: Partners in Recovery (PIR) was an Australian Commonwealth Government-funded program supporting 35,000 people with complex needs, who experienced severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI). The program was designed to foster integrated care to address fragmented and missing supports. Internationally it is a rare example of a national coordination program evaluated in multiple local contexts, from multiple stakeholder perspectives. This paper examines factors that contributed to the program’s strengths and weaknesses, contextualising this in relation to the limits of subsequent supports.

Methods: This case study draws together 30 program evaluation papers, identified through a range of search strategies. Utilising Arksey and O’Malley’s review framework we collaboratively developed a synthesis of themes and findings.

Results: The support facilitator role was essential to implementation as was organisational environment. As a cornerstone of care for people with SPMI, support coordination required effective collaboration; strong communication; individualised, flexible, and recovery-oriented support; and a well-equipped workforce.

Conclusions: Data from multiple evaluations of PIR demonstrate the importance of care coordination for SPMI which is underpinned by a recovery-oriented key worker, localised approaches and flexible funding. These are key attributes of integrated support which can inform practice and policy development for this group internationally.