Abstract for: Understanding expert perspectives on the mental health care system. Uncovering system silos with a participatory approach

Substance use disorders are a global health concern, contributing to high morbidity and mortality rates. In the Netherlands, despite a slight decline in excessive alcohol consumption, alcohol use disorder (AUD) still affects around 20\% of the population, placing immense strain on mental healthcare systems - now and in the future. The purpose of this study is to investigate and integrate expert perspectives on AUD-related healthcare with Group Model Building. The results show how experts are siloed: while they demonstrate detailed expertise on parts of the system and the problem, a complete and holistic systems understanding is lacking. As such, the study highlights how involving heterogeneous expert groups may potentially contribute to finding system solutions for sustainable health care.