Abstract
The US government funds integrated care demonstration projects to decrease health disparities for individuals with serious mental illness. Drawing on the Exploration Preparation Implementation Sustainability (EPIS) implementation framework, this case study of a community mental health clinic describes implementation barriers and sustainability challenges with grant-funded integrated care. Findings demonstrate that integrated care practices evolve during implementation and the following factors influenced sustainability: workforce rigidity, intervention clarity, policy and funding congruence between the agency and state/federal regulations, on-going support and training in practice application, and professional institutions. Implementation strategies for primary care integration within CMHCs include creating a flexible workforce, shared definition of integrated care, policy and funding congruence, and on-going support and training.
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Funding
This work was funded by the National Institute of Health (TL1TR000422). The methods, observations, and interpretations put forth in this article do not necessarily represent those of the funding agency. The author would like to thank Jean Kruzich, Gunnar Almgren, and Larry Kessler for their guidance in this research project and Kitsap Mental Health Services for partnering on this research adventure.
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was obtained from all interview participants and a selection of the outpatient team. The Human Subjects Division within the University of Washington approved this study #50280.
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Aby, M. A Case Study of Implementing Grant-Funded Integrated Care in a Community Mental Health Center. J Behav Health Serv Res 47, 293–308 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11414-019-09671-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11414-019-09671-7