Mental health service provision in elite sport: An evaluation of the Australian Institute of Sport Mental Health Referral Network

While research on mental health and wellbeing in elite sports has increased, there are few studies regarding models of care for responding to mental health needs in this population. The Australian Institute of Sport established the Mental Health Referral Network (MHRN) service in 2018, initially focused on mental health care for elite athletes only, but subsequently extended to include elite coaches, high-performance support staff and sports administration staff. This study used a convergent mixed-methods service evaluation to examine service users' experiences with the care provided by the MHRN. The quantitative component comprised an online survey with n = 84 service users (athletes, coaches, high-performance support staff, and sports administration staff). The qualitative component comprised semi-structured interviews, analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis, with a subset of n = 20 athletes, coaches, and high-performance support staff. Service users indicated high satisfaction with the support received and valued the no-cost, timely access model of care provided by practitioners with expertise in elite sport. Most participants (88.3%) positively viewed the practitioners being external to (i.e., not affiliated with) their daily training environment. This helped alleviate concerns about mental health stigma, confidentiality breaches, and potential consequences of disclosing mental ill-health (e.g., deselection) within their sport settings. Service users also emphasized the need to consider longer-term pathways for more intensive support where necessary, in addition to considering the long-term sustainability of the MHRN to ensure continued access to support. Findings may inform sporting organizations in their decision-making about service delivery models and future service development activities.