No access
Articles
Published Online: 2 August 2024

Effect of Providing Evidence-Based Mental Health Treatment on Retention in Care Among Medicaid-Enrolled Youths

Rebecca E. Stewart, Ph.D. [email protected], Nicholas C. Cardamone, B.S., M.S.Ed., Lisa Shen, M.C.I.T., Natalie Dallard, M.A., Carrie Comeau, M.S.W., David S. Mandell, Sc.D., Jill Bowen, Ph.D., and Aileen Rothbard, Ph.D.Authors Info & Affiliations
Publication: Psychiatric Services
Volume 75, Number 12
https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.20240066
Track CitationsAdd to favorites
Get Access

Abstract

Objective:

Youths who start behavioral health treatment often stop before completing a therapeutic course of care. To increase treatment engagement and quality of care, the Evidence-Based Practice and Innovation Center in Philadelphia has incentivized use of evidence-based practices (EBPs) for mental health care of youths. The authors aimed to compare treatment outcomes between youths who received EBP care and those who did not.

Methods:

Using EBP-specific billing codes and propensity score matching, the authors compared treatment retention among youths who received trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (TF-CBT; N=413) or parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT; N=90) relative to matched samples of youths in standard outpatient therapy (N=503).

Results:

Youths with a minimum of one session of TF-CBT or PCIT attended a second session at higher rates than did youths in the matched control group (TF-CBT: 96% vs. 68%, p<0.01; PCIT: 94% vs. 69%, respectively, p<0.01). On average, these returning youths attended more sessions in the EBP groups than in the control group (TF-CBT: 15.9 vs. 11.5 sessions, p<0.01; PCIT: 11.2 vs. 6.9 sessions, p<0.01).

Conclusions:

These findings indicate that, in addition to improving quality of care, EBP implementation helps address the major challenge that most youths who engage with treatment are not retained long enough for care to have therapeutic effects. Future research should examine the mechanisms through which EBPs can improve treatment retention.

Get full access to this content

View all available purchase options and get full access to this content.

Get Access

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to Psychiatric Services
Go to Psychiatric Services
Psychiatric Services
Volume 75 • Number 12 • December 01, 2024
Pages: 1199 - 1205
PubMed: 39091172

History

Received: 8 February 2024
Revision received: 17 April 2024
Accepted: 15 May 2024
Published online: 2 August 2024
Published in print: December 01, 2024

Keywords

  1. Child psychiatry
  2. Mental health systems
  3. Trauma-informed care
  4. Insurance
  5. Evidence-based practice

Authors

Details

Rebecca E. Stewart, Ph.D. [email protected]
Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (Stewart, Cardamone, Shen, Mandell, Rothbard); Community Behavioral Health, Philadelphia (Dallard, Comeau); Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services, Philadelphia (Bowen).
View all articles by this author
Nicholas C. Cardamone, B.S., M.S.Ed.
Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (Stewart, Cardamone, Shen, Mandell, Rothbard); Community Behavioral Health, Philadelphia (Dallard, Comeau); Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services, Philadelphia (Bowen).
View all articles by this author
Lisa Shen, M.C.I.T.
Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (Stewart, Cardamone, Shen, Mandell, Rothbard); Community Behavioral Health, Philadelphia (Dallard, Comeau); Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services, Philadelphia (Bowen).
View all articles by this author
Natalie Dallard, M.A.
Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (Stewart, Cardamone, Shen, Mandell, Rothbard); Community Behavioral Health, Philadelphia (Dallard, Comeau); Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services, Philadelphia (Bowen).
View all articles by this author
Carrie Comeau, M.S.W.
Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (Stewart, Cardamone, Shen, Mandell, Rothbard); Community Behavioral Health, Philadelphia (Dallard, Comeau); Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services, Philadelphia (Bowen).
View all articles by this author
David S. Mandell, Sc.D.
Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (Stewart, Cardamone, Shen, Mandell, Rothbard); Community Behavioral Health, Philadelphia (Dallard, Comeau); Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services, Philadelphia (Bowen).
View all articles by this author
Jill Bowen, Ph.D.
Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (Stewart, Cardamone, Shen, Mandell, Rothbard); Community Behavioral Health, Philadelphia (Dallard, Comeau); Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services, Philadelphia (Bowen).
View all articles by this author
Aileen Rothbard, Ph.D.
Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (Stewart, Cardamone, Shen, Mandell, Rothbard); Community Behavioral Health, Philadelphia (Dallard, Comeau); Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services, Philadelphia (Bowen).
View all articles by this author

Notes

Send correspondence to Dr. Stewart ([email protected]).

Competing Interests

The authors report no financial relationships with commercial interests.

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Citations

Export Citations

If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.

For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu.

Format
Citation style
Style
Copy to clipboard
Tips for downloading citations

View Options

Login options

Already a subscriber? Access your subscription through your login credentials or your institution for full access to this article.

Personal login Institutional Login Open Athens login
Item saved, go to cart
Purchase Options

Purchase this article to access the full text.

PPV Articles - Psychiatric Services

PPV Articles - Psychiatric Services

Not a subscriber?

Subscribe Now / Learn More

PsychiatryOnline subscription options offer access to the DSM-5-TR® library, books, journals, CME, and patient resources. This all-in-one virtual library provides psychiatrists and mental health professionals with key resources for diagnosis, treatment, research, and professional development.

Need more help? PsychiatryOnline Customer Service may be reached by emailing [email protected] or by calling 800-368-5777 (in the U.S.) or 703-907-7322 (outside the U.S.).

View options

PDF/EPUB

View PDF/EPUB

Full Text

View Full Text

Media

Figures

Other

Tables

Share

Share

Share article link

Share

×

As described within the American Psychiatric Association (APA)'s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, this website utilizes cookies, including for the purpose of offering an optimal online experience and services tailored to your preferences. Please read the entire Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. By closing this message, browsing this website, continuing the navigation, or otherwise continuing to use the APA's websites, you confirm that you understand and accept the terms of the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, including the utilization of cookies.