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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Gregory B. Teague, PhD, Department of Mental Health Health Law & Policy, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, University of South Florida, 13301 Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, Tampa, FL 33612, 813-974-7185, teague@fmhi.usf.edu and Timothy L. Boaz, PhD, Department of Mental Health Law & Policy, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, University of South Florida, 13301 Bruce B.Downs Boulevard, Tampa, FL 33612.
Among service models for people with serious mental illness, assertive community treatment (ACT) has arguably the longest and strongest evidence base. However, only relatively recently have explicit program specifications and training expertise become available, and the degree to which this model departs from conventional practice accentuates the inevitable challenges presented by attempting to modify professional behavior on a large scale. Consequently, the craft of implementing ACT programs is still developing, and systematic examinations of implementation projects under way can offer lessons for improving the effectiveness of future efforts. The session presents lessons from an effort to implement a high-fidelity ACT model – the Program of Assertive Community Treatment (PACT) – throughout a large state system with a limited resource base. More than two dozen teams have been established over three years. The program has several features: comprehensive partnership of stakeholders; competitive process for provider selection; supplemental funding for medication and housing; multifaceted training strategy; peer specialists on teams; and local advisory/oversight boards. Formal evaluation draws on data from key informants, consumers, statewide databases, and analysis of consultant/trainer observations. Key research questions include the pace and degree of implementation; the nature of implementation challenges, strategies for addressing them, and their relationship to model fidelity; and associations among these and contextual characteristics. Early observations suggest both the value of commitment to a clearly specified model by both stakeholders and leadership and the need for an articulated sequence of training content and methods to develop the staff skills for this complex service model.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will be able to
Keywords: Evidence Based Practice, Sever Mental Illness
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.