Abstract

Research literature consistently points towards the benefits of integrating lifestyle interventions into mental health services to address cardiometabolic disease in people that experience Severe Mental Illness. Despite this weight of evidence mental health services have largely struggled to find ways to implement lifestyle interventions into their activities.

Keeping the Body in Mind (KBIM) is a lifestyle intervention program that commenced in 2013 and has been successfully implemented in South East Sydney Local Health District. KBIM has been implemented in a staggered manner commencing with youth with psychosis, followed by consumers taking clozapine and then those on Long-Acting Injectable medications. This method has been followed to allow for culture change amongst service users and to ensure that lifestyle interventions can be assertively offered to all mental health service participants.

Another area of focus for KBIM has been culture change for management and clinicians within the mental health service, this has been achieved through extensive education and a lifestyle intervention program for staff. This program called Keeping our Staff in Mind has demonstrated improvements in attitudes, confidence and knowledge around metabolic health screening and interventions.

This presentation will describe the evolution of KBIM and discuss the progression of each stage of the rollout of the service along with evaluated outcomes of its implementation.