Implementation and status of the Youth FACT model in Norway

Introduction

Several national reports in recent years have described the fragmentation of services for adolescents with severe problems in several areas of life, including mental health, substance use, and social difficulties. The lack of collaboration between services provides major obstacles and many adolescents with complex needs do not receive adequate treatment and follow up. The implementation of the Youth FACT model in Norway was inspired by the positive results from the ACT and FACT models for adults with severe mental illness.

Method

A work group with young persons with lived experience, professionals from municipalities and specialist services, from government bodies and different resource centers on Youth mental health worked from August 2019 to May 2020 to investigate if and how Youth FACT should be implemented in Norway. These topics were investigated: 1) User involvement in FACT, 2) The composition and size of the target group, 3) Youth FACT and the child welfare system, 4) Methods for and elements in measuring the team fidelity, 5) How to educate the teams in the different aspects of working in a FACT team, 6) Implementation support required if Youth FACT was to be introduced on a large scale in Norway.

Results

Norwegian health authorities decided to invest in the Youth FACT model and established a national funding program and a national implementation strategy to support the teams.

Discussion

A summary of the implementation strategies, development, and status of the Youth FACT model in Norway will be discussed. Factors that promote or inhibit implementation, the development of the model in different service contexts, and thoughts on how to provide sustainability of the Youth FACT model in different settings will be shared.