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How Community Organizations Promote Continuity of Care for Young People with Mental Health Problems

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Abstract

Young people between the ages of 16 and 25 who experience mental health problems experience transitions and need help from a variety of organizations. Organizations promote continuity of care by assisting young adults with developmental, service, and systemic transitions. Providers offer specific services to help transitions and also form cooperative relationships with other community organizations. Results from a survey of 100 service providers in one community describe organizational attributes and practices which are associated with continuity of care in a regional system for young adults. Data analyses show that full-service organizations which practice cultural competence offer more specific services that foster continuity of care. Larger, full-service organizations are also more likely to have more extensive and collaborative inter-organizational networks that help young adults continue care over time within the regional system of care.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), NIMH grant #R03MH59108

Conflict of Interest

The authors have no conflict of interest to report.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Penn State University, 76 University Drive, Hazleton, PA, 18202, USA

    Michael F. Polgar PhD

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, Room 1715 Unit 11, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Leopoldo J. Cabassa PhD

  3. Columbia University School of Social Work, New York, NY, USA

    Leopoldo J. Cabassa PhD

  4. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 725 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, CB#7590, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7590, USA

    Joseph P. Morrissey PhD

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  1. Michael F. Polgar PhD
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  2. Leopoldo J. Cabassa PhD
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  3. Joseph P. Morrissey PhD
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Correspondence to Michael F. Polgar PhD.

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Polgar, M.F., Cabassa, L.J. & Morrissey, J.P. How Community Organizations Promote Continuity of Care for Young People with Mental Health Problems. J Behav Health Serv Res 43, 200–213 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11414-014-9409-8

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