CHI Framework Links Physical and Behavioral Health Services

SPS: Mental Health

The comprehensive health care integration (CHI) framework coordinates physical and behavioral health services, helping social workers manage populations and improve outcomes.

By using CHI, professionals can overcome barriers, enhance service delivery, and support policies for vulnerable groups. This framework can facilitate integrated care, promote targeted population management, and improve population health outcomes, says the latest NASW Specialty Practice Section Section Connection newsletter for Mental Health.

“By adopting this model, social work professionals can better navigate systemic barriers, improve service delivery, and advocate for sustainable policy changes that benefit vulnerable populations,” says the author, Nick Szubiak, LCSW.

Not only does the CHI framework support the communities that social workers serve, but it also supports social workers themselves, says Szubiak, founder of NSI Strategies, an organization that provides support to integrated health care environments. “The framework strives to empower social workers to practice integrated care, thus fostering stronger transdisciplinary teams, enhancing effectiveness, and reducing the frustrations of a bifurcated and siloed system—a primary contributor to compassion fatigue and burnout.”