Abstract
Mental health self-direction involves participant control of an individualized budget to support recovery and wellness goals. This quasi-experimental study examined whether self-direction is associated with changes in service utilization. The study involved 2 years of administrative data for 94 self-directing participants and a matched comparison group of 529 non-participants with similar observed characteristics. Difference-in-differences were examined using four regression models predicting changes in four service utilization categories. Self-directing participants had greater increases in outpatient and rehabilitation services than the non-self-directing group, controlling for relevant covariates. There were no between-group differences in residential and emergency service utilization.
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Funding
This paper has not been presented elsewhere. This study is part of a Demonstration and Evaluation of Self-Direction in Mental Health, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (Grant #74981), with support from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the New York State Health Foundation.
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Croft, B., Battis, K., Isvan, N. et al. Service Utilization Before and After Self-Direction: A Quasi-experimental Difference-in-Differences Analysis of Utah’s Mental Health Access to Recovery Program. Adm Policy Ment Health 47, 36–46 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-019-00969-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-019-00969-4