Optimizing Behavioral Health Homes for Adults With Serious Mental Illness

Study Summary

Adults with serious mental illness (SMI) frequently have unmet medical needs which place them at risk for adverse health outcomes. While there are proven ways to manage and/or prevent serious medical conditions common among this population, information is needed to understand their impact on outcomes that matter most for patients, particularly in community mental health centers (CMHCs) where most adults with SMI receive their care and rural areas where locating and receiving health care services can be challenging. The investigators will test two promising ways for promoting the health, wellness, and recovery of adults with SMI. One way will help patients manage their health and health care through self-management strategies, including the use of a web portal, and peer support (patient self-directed care) and the other through interactions with nurses during clinic visits (provider-supported integrated care). The investigators will compare the two interventions on three primary patient-centered outcomes (i.e. patient activation in care, health status, engagement in primary/specialty care). The investigators hypothesize that: 1. Patient self-directed care will result in improvement in patient activation. 2. Provider-supported integrated care will result in greater improvement in frequency in primary/specialty care visits. 3. Both interventions will result in significant improvements in the three primary outcomes. The investigators will collect information from patients, caregivers, and clinic staff at different points in time during the study. Patients will be asked to complete questionnaires and additional data on their service use will be gathered. Some patients and providers will also be interviewed about their experiences with care. The investigators will examine these data to learn if, how, and why the new services improve outcomes over time. This information will help us understand patient and other stakeholder views about the services and, if appropriate,

Primary Outcome

Assessed using the PAM, a 13-item scale that renders a total activation score. This measure gauges the knowledge, skills, and confidence of patients essential to managing their own health and health care. It divides into progressively higher levels of activation: starting to take a role, building knowledge and confidences, taking action, and maintaining behaviors. The raw score scale for the PAM ranges from 13 to 52. The activation scale for the PAM ranges from 0 to 100. The lower values represe

Interventions

• BEHAVIORAL Patient Self-Directed Care
• BEHAVIORAL Provider-Supported Integrated Care