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Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research
Published in: Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research 1/2017

01-01-2017 | Original Article

Reliable Change and Outcome Trajectories Across Levels of Care in a Mental Health System for Youth

Authors: David S. Jackson, Scott S. Keir, Max Sender, Charles W. Mueller

Published in: Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research | Issue 1/2017

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Abstract

Knowledge of mental health treatment outcome trajectories across various service types can be valuable for both system- and client-level decision-making. Using longitudinal youth functional impairment scores across 2807 treatment episodes, this study examined outcome trajectories and estimated the number of months required for reliable change across nine major services (or levels of care). Results indicate logarithmic improvement trajectories for a majority of levels of care and significant differences in time until improvement ranging from 4 to 12 months. Findings can guide system-level policies on lengths of treatment and service authorizations and provide expected treatment response data for client-level treatment decisions.
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Metadata
Title
Reliable Change and Outcome Trajectories Across Levels of Care in a Mental Health System for Youth
Authors
David S. Jackson
Scott S. Keir
Max Sender
Charles W. Mueller
Publication date
01-01-2017
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research / Issue 1/2017
Print ISSN: 0894-587X
Electronic ISSN: 1573-3289
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-015-0690-5

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