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Australians with lived experience of mental illness die on average 10 or more years earlier than the general population. Cardiometabolic disorders, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus, are common causes of premature death in this cohort. Little is known about cardiometabolic monitoring practices in mental health inpatient units. The aim of this study was to examine the characteristics of cardiometabolic monitoring and physical health assessments of adult mental health consumers within the first 72 hours of admission to an inpatient unit. We implemented a retrospective descriptive exploratory design by medical record audit. Data were collected using a pre‐validated audit tool, adapted with recent literature and policy, from a randomly selected sample of consumers admitted to three acute mental health adult inpatient units of a large Australian metropolitan health service in 2016. Of 228 consumers, the mean age was 37.5 (range 18–64) years and 51.3% were women. Cardiometabolic risks were common, yet most consumers received incomplete cardiometabolic monitoring. While few consumers (15%) were diagnosed with cardiometabolic comorbidities, 67.5% were prescribed psychotropic medications with high cardiometabolic risk. Compliance with recommended cardiometabolic monitoring varied considerably between risk factors: for example, blood pressure was measured in 56.1% of consumers, whereas waist circumference was never recorded. There were no statistically significant associations between cardiometabolic monitoring completion and sex or cardiometabolic risk. These findings demonstrate the need for increased education and awareness of cardiometabolic risk and identify a critical gap between physical health assessment practices and recommendations for this cohort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. The aim of the present study was to document Australian policies on the physical health of people with mental illness and evaluate the capacity of policy to support health needs. Methods. A search of state and federal policies on mental and physical illness was conducted, as well as detailed analysis of policy content and the relationships between policies, by applying the World Health Organization Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2020 as an evaluative framework. Results. National policy attention to the physical health of people with mental illness has grown, but there is little interconnection at the national and state levels. State policies across the country are inconsistent, and there is little evidence of consistent policy implementation. Conclusions. A coherent national health policy framework on addressing co-occurring physical and mental illnesses that includes healthcare system reforms and ensuring the interconnectedness of other relevant services should be prioritised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People with serious mental illness experience premature death due to higher rates of cardiometabolic conditions (e.g. cardiovascular disease, diabetes) than the general population. Mental health services often do not provide sufficient cardiometabolic clinical care to address these risks. The cardiometabolic health nurse (CHN) role has been suggested as a strategy for ensuring integrated care is provided and sustained. The views of nurses in mental health would be essential in informing the viability and development for this initiative. This paper presents the findings of open-ended comments from a cross-sectional online survey of nurses working in mental health in Australia ( n  =  643) eliciting views about the possible introduction of the cardiometabolic nurse. Thematic analysis was undertaken, of 133 open comments on this topic. The findings suggest that nurses see the specialist role as suitable and valuable for mental health services. Some nurses voiced concern about specialisation leading to fragmentation (e.g. in responsibilities for physical health, division of mental and physical health care, and less emphasis on equipping all nurses with comprehensive care skills), especially for settings where generalist nursing was seen as already available. The findings suggest this role is viewed favourably by nurses, provided that it is consistent with holistic and comprehensive care. Empirical research is needed to see whether this role increases holism (as valued by consumers and nurses) and cardiometabolic outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]