Table 3 A suggested framework for collecting and reporting co-response triage models
From: A systematic review of co-responder models of police mental health ‘street’ triage
Topic | Variable to report | Description of variable and reason for reporting |
|---|---|---|
Identify as co-response triage service | Name of service | Give the name of the service to enable grouping of models and their comparison. |
Identify as co-response model of triage | Include a sentence in the service description to signpost to readers and researchers that the service is a co-response model of police mental health triage. | |
Model characteristics | Model of co-response | Define the model of how the mental health professional assists the police officer during the incident. Ride-along models are those in which the police officer (PO) and mental health (MH) worker attend the incident together in a vehicle. Ride-separate models are when PO and MH worker arrive at the incident separately. Telephone Support models are those in which the MH worker provides assistance via a telephone or radio. Services that provide a combination of these models should specify when each model is used. |
Method of referral to co-response team | Describe how crisis incidents are referred to the triage team (e.g. emergency response, direct from police officers, publicly available direct phone line), and from whom triage can take referrals (e.g. police officers, other emergency services, mental health services, the public, etc.) | |
Timing of response | Describe whether the co-response team acts as a first responder, where the team can be referred to and attend incidents prior to any other police involvement, or second responder, where the team is referred following an initial police response. | |
Team staffing and roles | Outline the team composition and responsibilities | |
Days and hours of operation | Describe the working hours of members of the co-response team. Be explicit if hours differ for different types of response, or members of response. | |
Team Location | Describe where each member of the team is located during a usual triage shift. | |
Vehicle involved in triage response (if any) | If applicable, describe how the co-response team attend the triage incident (e.g. in a marked police car, unmarked car, ambulance, etc.) | |
Local context | Geography and population | Describe the geographic elements (e.g. rural versus city, large area vs small area) and local population to improve readers’ understanding of the local context in to which the triage service is placed. |
Local mental health provision and linked partner agencies | Describe local mental health provision and agencies working closely with the triage team (if any) to improve understanding of where triage fits within crisis services and wider mental health provision |