Implementation support for the data-driven components of care in a multisite network of coordinated specialty care programs.

Beyond training providers prior to the roll-out of coordinated specialty care (CSC) for first-episode psychosis in clinical settings, implementation support for data-informed care remains an area that has received very little attention. The current paper describes the development and refinement of implementation support for the data-driven components of care in the New Journeys network, Washington State's CSC model for psychosis, comprised of 14 CSC programs. Using the Evidence-Based System for Innovation Support Logic Model, this paper outlines the individual components for implementation support, tools, training, technical assistance, and quality improvement/evaluation that have been developed for the New Journeys network. We present examples of modifications that have occurred over nine years to address the needs of clients, providers, and state-level network administrators to facilitate the data-driven components of care. We conclude with recommendations based on lessons learned in Washington State aimed at improving implementation of data-driven care in CSC models throughout the USA.

The purpose of this work was to outline the development and strategies used to provide implementation support for the data-driven components of coordinated specialty care programs for early psychosis. We describe the individual use of tools, training, technical assistance, and quality improvement, and how these strategies are used collectively. Based on detailed notes from meetings and correspondence from providers and state-level administrators we present modifications that have occurred to address barriers and needs, essentially using quantitative and qualitative data to inform quality improvement. We then present lessons learned that could be helpful for existing and new coordinated specialty care networks.

Exploring service provider perspectives on service user engagement across service components in coordinated specialty care programs for psychosis.

Engagement in services is a core element to successful outcomes for service users and programs. In coordinated specialty care (CSC) programs, designed for individuals experiencing first-episode psychosis, engagement has only been measured programmatically and not by service component. This qualitative study sought to explore provider perspectives on service user engagement in service components of CSC. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 20 service providers from five community-based early intervention programs for psychosis in the United States. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim, and thematic analysis was used to analyze the data collected. Provider participants described barriers and facilitators that contribute to disengagement or engagement in four service components within early intervention programs: individual psychotherapy, family education and support, medication management, and vocational services. Barriers identified included substance use, stigma, trauma, and external pressures. Identified barriers to engagement in CSC were both unique to individual components and cut across them. By better understanding the complexity of barriers and their intersections within and across CSC components, there can be more effective policy and program development to reduce disengagement and hopefully increase positive outcomes for service users. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Community-based family peer navigator programme to facilitate linkage to coordinated specialty care for early psychosis among Black families in the USA: A protocol for a hybrid type I feasibility study.

BACKGROUND: Approximately 70% of Black/African American family members report no contact with mental health providers prior to initial diagnosis and the receipt of services for early psychosis. Black families often encounter barriers and experience delays on the pathway to coordinated specialty care programmes for early psychosis. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This mixed-methods study will (1) develop and refine a family peer navigator (FPN) for Black families designed to increase access and engagement in coordinated specialty care and (2) pilot-test FPN for Black families with 40 family members with loved ones at risk for psychosis in a randomised trial to assess the acceptability and feasibility. Families will be randomised to FPN (n=20) or a low-intensive care coordination (n=20). Other outcomes include proposed treatment targets (eg, knowledge, social connectedness), preliminary impact outcomes (time to coordinated specialty care programmes, initial family engagement), and implementation outcomes (acceptability, feasibility, appropriateness). ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethics approval has been obtained from Washington State University Institutional Review Board and informed consent will be obtained from all participants. This study will establish an innovative culturally responsive FPN programme and implementation strategy, and generate preliminary data to support a larger hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial. Study findings will be presented at conferences and in peer-reviewed journals. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT05284721.

Recent substance use among clients with early psychosis and the potential to graduate from New Journeys.

AIM: This study examined the relationship between recent substance use prior to intake and program graduation among young adults with early psychosis enrolled in coordinated specialty care. METHODS: Participants (N = 248) were from New Journeys, a network of coordinated specialty care programs in Washington State. Recent (i.e., past 30 days) alcohol, cannabis, and other substance use was collected at intake and process data (e.g., contact) was collected by clinicians across a 2-year period. RESULTS: At intake, 32% of participants reported alcohol use only, 26% cannabis use only, and 15% both alcohol and cannabis use. Participants who reported alcohol use only (p = .02), cannabis use only (p = .03), and any substance use (p = .02) had significantly lower chances of graduating from coordinated specialty care than individuals who do not use substances. CONCLUSIONS: Unlike prior work, recent substance use influences clients' potential to graduate from New Journeys. Additional focus on the implementation of substance use treatment, with an emphasis on alcohol use, in coordinated specialty care programs is needed improve program completion rates.

A Multifaceted Technical Assistance Strategy to Facilitate Measurement Delivery in Coordinated Specialty Care.

In recent years, coordinated specialty care (CSC) providers have worked to harmonize and deliver data collection measures across programs so that they can provide data that enable measurement-informed care. However, the strategies that can effectively support the integration of a core assessment battery in clinical care remain unclear. This column presents an evaluation of a multifaceted technical assistance strategy for the delivery and completion of an assessment battery in nine CSC programs (N=247 clients). The findings suggest that a multifaceted technical assistance strategy can effectively support the integration of a comprehensive assessment battery in the care delivered by providers. Similar technical assistance strategies may assist CSC providers as they move toward providing data-driven care in an effort to improve quality of care.

The unique pathways to coordinate specialty care for Black families navigating early psychosis: A preliminary report.

BACKGROUND: Aversive pathways to coordinated specialty care (CSC) for first episode psychosis have been linked to the extended duration of untreated psychosis, limited engagement, and treatment outcomes. Yet there has been very limited research that has solely explored the unique pathways to care among Black families in the U.S. This study utilized qualitative methods to explore the pathways to CSC among Black individuals experiencing their first episode of psychosis and their family members. METHODS: Individuals who were or are enrolled in CSC programs and/or their family members were recruited to participate in semi-structured qualitative interviews. Qualitative interviews were used to characterize events and experiences prior to the initiation of CSC. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using a qualitative descriptive approach. RESULTS: A total of 14 participants were recruited to complete semi-structured interviews. Findings revealed that during prodromal phase participants noticed changes in social functioning, identified prior childhood experiences that were viewed as traumatic, and sought very little help from formal sources. After the onset of psychosis, the majority of participants highlighted the importance of family members in the initiation of care, yet also expressed difficulties navigating services and engaging with clinical staff, contributing to further delays to the initiation of CSC. CONCLUSIONS: Finding from this study sheds light on understanding known disparities in utilization of services and potentially identifies areas that can be leveraged to improve the experiences for Black families seeking CSC.

Exploring Provider Perspectives on Implementing Coordinated Specialty Care: A Qualitative Study.

This study aimed to explore clinician roles and experiences related to the implementation and sustainability of coordinated specialty care (CSC) programs for first episode psychosis. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 20 CSC providers and team members, recruited from five CSC programs. Using a semi-structured guide, interviews explored experiences with the delivery of CSC in the context of community-based outpatient mental health agencies and the challenges with implementation. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis. Themes were parsed into two overarching categories, provider, and organizational-level factors, and further distilled into subthemes which interacted with one another to form an interacting web of barriers to successful programmatic implementation for CSC programs. Study findings have important implications for development of future policy for financing mental health agencies, the creation of additional materials, supports for the model, and hiring and retention of staff for future implemented CSC programs.

Geographic Disparities in Access to Specialty Care Programs for Early Psychosis in Washington State.

Supported by the 10% set-aside funds in the Community Mental Health Block grant, distributed at the state level, coordinated specialty care (CSC) have been widely disseminated throughout the U.S. This study explores variations in the geographical accessibility of CSC programs by neighborhood level characteristics in Washington State. CSC locations were geocoded. Socioeconomic neighborhood deprivation (i.e., Area deprivation index) and rurality (i.e., Rural-Urban Commuting Area codes) were neighborhood level characteristics extracted from the 2018 American Community Survey. Geographic accessibility of CSC was assessed using a two-step floating catchment area technique and multilevel linear models were used to examine the association between specific neighborhood characteristics and geographic accessibility. The association between access and socioeconomically deprived neighborhoods varied differentially by neighborhood rurality (an interaction effect). Model estimates indicated that the least deprived, metropolitan neighborhoods had the best access (M = 0.38; CI: 0.34, 0.42) and rural neighborhoods in the second most deprived quartile had the worst access (M = 0.16; CI: 0.11, 0.21) to CSC. There was a clear decrease in accessibility for more rural neighborhoods, regardless of other neighborhood characteristics. In conclusions, findings provide important insight into how resource distribution contributes to geographic disparities in access to CSC. The use of spatial analytic techniques has the potential to identify specific neighborhoods and populations where there is a need to expand and increase availability of CSC to ensure access to rural and socioeconomically deprived neighborhoods.

Family Experiences Prior to the Initiation of Care for First-Episode Psychosis: A Meta-Synthesis of Qualitative Studies.

OBJECTIVES: This study systematically reviewed existing qualitative evidence of family members' experiences prior to the initiation of mental health services for a loved one experiencing their first episode of psychosis (FEP). METHODS: A meta-synthesis review of published peer-reviewed qualitative studies conducted between 2010 and 2019 were included. Keyword searches were performed in four electronic databases and the reference lists of primary manuscripts. Two independent reviewers used the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) qualitative checklist to assess methodological quality of each study. RESULTS: A total of 365 articles were initially identified and 9 were articles identified in a secondary review and literature search. A total of 21 met inclusion criteria. Of those included in this review 169, mothers were the primary family to recall experiences. The meta-synthesis identified four major themes related to family member experiences prior to the initiation of mental health services for FEP: the misinterpretation of signs, the emotional impact of FEP on family members, the effect of stigma on family members, and engaging with resources prior to mental health services for FEP. CONCLUSIONS: Additional research is needed to develop healthy communication strategies that effectively deliver educational information about psychosis. This meta-synthesis also identified the need to understand help-seeking behaviors among families of those with FEP in effort to reduce the duration of untreated psychosis and improve pathways to care often initiated by a family member.

Understanding differences in family engagement and provider outreach in New Journeys: A coordinated specialty care program for first episode psychosis.

The present study examined clinician outreach efforts to families and family engagement; and predictors of engagement in a coordinated specialty care (CSC) for first episode psychosis. From 2015 to 2019, 211 clients experiencing their first episode of psychosis and their family members received services from New Journeys, a network of CSC programs in the United States. Analyses examined the association between race/ethnicity, insurance type, referral source, housing stability, and outreach efforts and family attendance. Overall, 70% of client family members attended at least one psychoeducation appointment and in the first month of treatment 40% of family members attended family psychoeducation. Outreach efforts including phone attempts (ß=1.09; p = 0.02) and phone contact (ß=1.10; p = 0.02) were significantly higher for Black families relative to White families; whereas Black families were scheduled less often for a family psychoeducation (ß=-0.28; p = 0.02) compared to Whites families. Significant differences in family attendance based on insurance type were also found (p<0.01). Referral source and housing stability were not significant predictors of outreach or attendance. These findings suggest that alternative engagement efforts that extend beyond in-person contact may be needed to continuously engage families, specifically Black families and those with public and no insurance.

Preliminary Evaluation of Washington State's Early Intervention Program for First-Episode Psychosis.

OBJECTIVE: Early intervention programs are designed to address the needs of youths experiencing first-episode psychosis (FEP). Washington State developed New Journeys, a network of coordinated specialty care programs for FEP. In this study, the authors have outlined components of the New Journeys model and preliminary findings since its initial implementation. METHODS: Youths and young adults diagnosed as having psychosis (N=112) completed measures at and after intake on a range of mental health assessments and functional outcomes for the first 12 months of treatment. Administrative data including state-funded emergency department and psychiatric hospitalizations were assessed 24 months before and after intake. Generalized estimating equations were used to assess change over time on multiple measures of mental health status. RESULTS: Compared with their condition at intake, clients had significant decreases in symptoms of anxiety (ß=-2.48, p<0.001), psychotic experiences (ß=-3.37, p<0.05), and clinician-rated psychotic symptoms (ß=-1.47, p<0.05) during treatment. Additionally, quality of life (ß=-5.95, p<0.001) and school attendance (odds ratio=1.42, p<0.05) significantly improved during treatment. Administrative data indicated that postintake, clients were less likely to visit the emergency department for psychiatric reasons (ß=0.22, p<0.05), utilize community psychiatric inpatient services (ß=0.31, p<0.001), and utilize public assistance (ß=0.71, p<0.05) compared with 24 months before intake. CONCLUSIONS: New Journeys clients experienced improved clinical and functional outcomes during their first year of treatment, and rates of state-funded service utilization decreased during their treatment.