Abstract Serious mental illnesses (SMI), including psychotic, bipolar, and major depressive disorders, can lead to severe functional impairments, affecting work and social relationships. Individuals with SMI face complex health needs, including poor physical health and a high prevalence of chronic conditions. Yet health systems around the world struggle to meet these needs. Life expectancy among people with SMI is 15-20 years shorter than the general population, primarily due to somatic illnesses and increased all-cause mortality. This gap continues to widen, making excess mortality a critical indicator of healthcare quality and system performance. However, methodological variations in its calculation hinder robust international comparisons. Contributing factors to this mortality gap include adverse health behaviors, iatrogenic effects of antipsychotics, social and economic disadvantages, and inadequate physical healthcare. The longstanding separation between mental and somatic care exacerbates these issues, reducing access to preventive services and guideline-concordant care. To address these challenges, integrated care models tailored to the needs of people with SMI are essential. These models emphasize continuous, comprehensive and coordinated care to improve health outcomes and patient experience. Various approaches have emerged, such as primary care-based models or mental health-specialized settings incorporating primary care practitioners and case managers. However, evidence remains limited and consensus on the most suitable models is lacking. In response, the EUropean Mental and physical health Initiative for people with severe Mental Disorders (EU-MIND), funded by the 2024 European Partnership on Transforming Health and Care Systems, was developed as a collaboration between six countries: Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Poland, and Sweden. The initiative aims to identify key considerations for implementing integrated care models for SMI and physical comorbidities in Europe, based on empirical evidence and expert consensus. This workshop will present EU-MIND's initial findings through three presentations: • Mortality trends: Longitudinal findings on the mortality of people with SMI across participating European countries, leveraging a standardized methodology for robust comparison and large-scale health claims datasets, will be presented. • Current evidence on integrated care models: A scoping literature review summarizing attributes and effectiveness of existing integrated care models for SMI and physical conditions, including a taxonomy of these models based on the SELFIE framework for multimorbidity care, will be analyzed. • Expert consensus on best-practice models: Findings from a Delphi study engaging service users, caregivers, care professionals, and policymakers to identify the most promising and acceptable integrated care models at the European level will be discussed. Each presentation will last 15 minutes, allowing time for discussion. Key messages • EU-MIND pioneers a rigorous multi-method approach (national datasets, scoping review, Delphi consensus) to generate robust evidence on physical health gaps in SMI. • EU-MIND promotes the implementation of stakeholder-accepted integrated care models, engaging patients, professionals, policymakers, and society.
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