Why do Stayers Stay? Perceptions of White and Black Long-Term Employees in a Community Mental Health Center.

Previous research has focused on factors influencing turnover of employees in the mental health workforce, yet little research has explored reasons why employees stay. To facilitate retaining a diverse mental health workforce, the current study aimed to elucidate factors that contributed to employees' tenure at a community mental health center (CHMC) as well as compare these perceptions between Black and White employees. Long-term employees (7 years or more) from one urban CMHC (n = 22) completed semi-structured stayer interviews. Using emergent thematic analysis, stayer interviews revealed four major themes for why they have stayed at the organization for 7 years or more: (1) work as a calling, (2) supportive relationships, (3) opportunities for growth or meaningful contribution, and (4) organization mission's alignment with personal attributes or values. Comparison between Black and White stayer narratives revealed differences in their perceptions with work as a calling and opportunities for growth and meaningful contribution. Guided by themes derived from stayer interviews, the current study discusses theoretical (e.g., job embeddedness theory, theory of racialized organizations, self-determination theory) and practical implications (e.g., supporting job autonomy, Black voices in leadership) in an effort to improve employee retention and address structural racism within a mental health organization.

Machine Learning with Human Resources Data: Predicting Turnover among Community Mental Health Center Employees.

BACKGROUND: Human resources (HR) departments collect extensive employee data that can be useful for predicting turnover. Yet, these data are not often used to address turnover due to the complex nature of recorded data forms. AIMS OF THE STUDY: The goal of the current study was to predict community mental health center employees' turnover by applying machine learning (ML) methods to HR data and to evaluate the feasibility of the ML approaches. METHODS: Historical HR data were obtained from two community mental health centers, and ML approaches with random forest and lasso regression as training models were applied. RESULTS: The results suggested a good level of predictive accuracy for turnover, particularly with the random forest model (e.g., Area Under the Curve was above .8) compared to the lasso regression model overall. The study also found that the ML methods could identify several important predictors (e.g., past work years, wage, work hours, age, job position, training hours, and marital status) for turnover using historical HR data. The HR data extraction processes for ML applications were also evaluated as feasible. DISCUSSION: The current study confirmed the feasibility of ML approaches for predicting individual employees' turnover probabilities by using HR data the organizations had already collected in their routine organizational management practice. The developed approaches can be used to identify employees who are at high risk for turnover. Because our primary purpose was to apply ML methods to estimate an individual employee's turnover probability given their available HR data (rather than determining generalizable predictors at the wider population level), our findings are limited or restricted to the specific organizations under the study. As ML applications are accumulated across organizations, it may be expected that some findings might be more generalizable across different organizations while others may be more organization-specific (idiographic). IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH CARE PROVISION AND USE: The organization-specific findings can be useful for the organization's HR and leadership to evaluate and address turnover in their specific organizational contexts. Preventing extensive turnover has been a significant priority for many mental health organizations to maintain the quality of services for clients. IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH POLICIES: The generalizable findings may contribute to broader policy and workforce development efforts. IMPLICATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: As our continuing research effort, it is important to study how the ML methods and outputs can be meaningfully utilized in routine management and leadership practice settings in mental health (including how to develop organization-tailored intervention strategies to support and retain employees) beyond identifying high turnover risk individuals. Such organization-based intervention strategies with ML applications can be accumulated and shared by organizations, which will facilitate the evidence-based learning communities to address turnover. This, in turn, may enhance the quality of care we can offer to clients. The continuing efforts will provide new insights and avenues to address data-driven, evidence-based turnover prediction and prevention strategies using HR data that are often under-utilized.

eHealth Use on Acute Inpatient Mental Health Units: Implementation Processes, Common Practices, and Barriers to Use.

Information technology to promote health (eHealth) is an important and growing area of mental healthcare, yet little is known about the use of patient-facing eHealth in psychiatric inpatient settings. This quality improvement project examined the current practices, barriers, implementation processes, and contextual factors affecting eHealth use across multiple Veteran Health Administration (VHA) acute mental health inpatient units. Staff from units serving both voluntary and involuntary patients (n = 49 from 37 unique sites) completed surveys regarding current, desired, and barriers to use of Veteran-facing eHealth technologies. Two subsets of respondents were then interviewed (high success sites in eHealth use, n = 6; low success sites, n = 4) to better understand the context of their eHealth use. Survey responses indicated that 20% or less of Veterans were using any type of eHealth technology while inpatient. Tablets and video chat were the most desired overall and most successfully used eHealth technologies. However, many sites noted difficulty implementing these technologies (e.g., limited Wi-Fi access). Qualitative analysis of interviews revealed differences in risk/benefit analysis and implementation support between high and low success eHealth sites. Despite desired use, patient-facing eHealth technology is not regularly implemented on inpatient units due to multiple barriers (e.g., limited staffing, infrastructure needs). Successful implementation of patient-facing eHealth may require an internal champion, guidance from external supports with experience in successful eHealth use, workload balance for staff, and an overall perspective shift in the benefits to eHealth technology versus the risks.

Racial disparities in the workplace: The impact of isolation on perceived organizational support and job satisfaction.

OBJECTIVE: Prior research indicates Black employees may be particularly vulnerable to job dissatisfaction and that social support at work is a potential resource that could influence employee outcomes. This study examined racial differences in workplace social networks and support, and how these factors may contribute to perceived organizational support and, ultimately, job satisfaction among mental health workers. METHOD: Using data from an all-employee survey in a community mental health center (N = 128), we assessed racial differences in social network supports, hypothesizing that Black employees would report smaller and less supportive social networks, and lower levels of organizational support and job satisfaction compared to White employees. We also hypothesized that workplace network size and support would be positively associated with perceived organizational support and job satisfaction. RESULTS: Hypotheses were partially supported. Compared to Whites, Blacks had smaller workplace networks that were less likely to include supervisors, were more likely to report workplace isolation (naming no workplace social ties), and were less likely to seek advice from their social ties at work. Regression analyses showed that Blacks and employees with smaller networks were more likely to perceive lower levels of organizational support, even after controlling for background variables. However, race and network size did not predict overall job satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: These findings suggest that Black mental health services staff are less likely to have rich, diverse workplace networks than their White colleagues, which may put them at a disadvantage in terms of accessing support and other resources. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Exploring Factors Impacting the Implementation of Recovery-Oriented Treatment Planning on Acute Inpatient Mental Health Units.

PURPOSE: The current literature on operationalizing and implementing recovery-oriented inpatient care in diverse settings remains limited. The present study systematically examined factors affecting the implementation of one aspect of recovery-oriented care in a large and diverse national sample of Veterans Health Administration (VHA) inpatient mental health units. METHOD: VHA inpatient mental health units were scored on the Recovery-Oriented Acute Inpatient scale (RAIN). Sites scoring either one standard deviation above (n = 8; i.e., high-scoring sites) or one standard deviation below (n = 5; i.e., low-scoring sites) the mean on the RAIN factor of inpatient treatment planning subscale were included for additional analyses (N = 13). We used a qualitative approach known as emergent thematic analysis to assess the implementation of inpatient treatment planning elements (e.g., goal setting, shared decision-making) from qualitative interviews, observation notes, and chart reviews collected for the 13 sites. The analysis was guided by Normalization Process Theory. RESULTS: The eleven themes that emerged across the elements of recovery-oriented inpatient treatment planning mostly represented commonalities across sites, such as a shared treatment philosophy of acute care. However, five themes emerged as "differentiators" that distinguished high- and low-scoring sites and included veteran input, elicitation of recovery goals, the value of group programming, and the purpose of family involvement. CONCLUSION: Findings provide insight into contextual factors and processes that impacted the implementation of recovery-oriented treatment planning at these VHA inpatient mental health units. To further facilitate the implementation of recovery-oriented inpatient treatment planning elements, future research should examine staff's collective understanding of recovery-oriented inpatient care.

Recovery-oriented inpatient mental health care and readmission.

OBJECTIVE: This article examines the relationship between inpatient mental health units' adherence to recovery-oriented care and 30-day patient readmission. METHOD: The sample included patients admitted to one of 34 Veterans Health Administration inpatient mental health units. Recovery-oriented care was assessed using interviews and site visits. Patient characteristics and readmission data were derived from administrative data. FINDINGS: Overall recovery orientation was not associated with readmission. Exploratory analyses found higher scores on a subsample of items pertaining to inpatient therapeutic programming were associated with lower patient readmissions. Additionally, patients with more prior service use and substance abuse or personality disorders were more likely to be readmitted. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: A growing body of literature supports the association between psychotherapeutic services in inpatient units and better patient outcomes. However, further research is needed to examine this association. More work is needed to develop appropriate psychotherapy services for the inpatient setting and support their implementation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Inpatient Mental Healthcare before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Prior studies have demonstrated disruption to outpatient mental health services after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Inpatient mental health services have received less attention. The current study utilized an existing cohort of 33 Veterans Health Affairs (VHA) acute inpatient mental health units to examine disruptions to inpatient services. It further explored the association between patient demographic, clinical, and services variables on relapse rates. Inpatient admissions and therapeutic services (group and individual therapy and peer support) were lower amongst the COVID-19 sample than prior to the onset of COVID-19 while lengths of stay were longer. Relapse rates did not differ between cohorts. Patients with prior emergent services use as well as substance abuse or personality disorder diagnoses were at higher risk for relapse. Receiving group therapy while admitted was associated with lower risk of relapse. Inpatient mental health services saw substantial disruptions across the cohort. Inpatient mental health services, including group therapy, may be an important tool to prevent subsequent relapse.

Do adolescents consider mind-body skills groups an acceptable treatment for depression: results from a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Mind-Body Skills Groups (MBSGs) have shown promise in reducing adolescent depression symptoms; however, little is known about adolescents' perspectives on this treatment. The objective of this study was to understand the acceptability of a new treatment for depressed adolescents in primary care settings. METHODS: Adolescents participating in a 10-week MBSG treatment were interviewed to understand their perspectives on the acceptability and effectiveness of the treatment. Interviews were collected at post-intervention and at a 3-month follow-up visit. RESULTS: A total of 39 adolescents completed both the post-intervention and 3-month follow-up interview. At post-intervention and follow-up, 84% of adolescents stated the MBSGs helped them. When asked how the MBSGs helped them, 3 areas were identified: learning new MBSG activities and skills, social connection with others within the group, and outcomes related to the group. Many adolescents reported no concerns with the MBSGs (49% at post- intervention; 62% at follow-up). Those with concerns identified certain activities as not being useful, wanting the group to be longer, and the time of group (after school) being inconvenient. Most adolescents reported that their life had changed because of the group (72% at post-intervention; 61% at follow-up), and when asked how, common responses included feeling less isolated and more hopeful. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents found the MBSGs to be helpful and acceptable as a treatment option for depression in primary care. Given the strong emphasis on treatment preference autonomy and the social activities within the group, MBSGs appear well-suited for this age group. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT03363750 ; December 6th, 2017.

Recovery-oriented acute inpatient mental health care: Operationalization and measurement.

OBJECTIVE: The current article describes efforts to develop and test a measure of recovery-oriented inpatient care. METHOD: The Recovery-oriented Acute INpatient (RAIN) scale was based on prior literature and current Veterans Health Administration (VHA) policy and resources and further revised based on data collection from 34 VHA acute inpatient units. RESULTS: A final scale of 23, behaviorally anchored items demonstrated a four-factor structure including the following factors: inpatient treatment planning, outpatient treatment planning, group programming, and milieu. While several items require additional revision to address psychometric concerns, the scale demonstrated adequate model fit and was consistent with prior literature on recovery-oriented inpatient care. Conclusions and Implementations for Practice: The RAIN scale represents an important tool for future implementation and empirical study of recovery-oriented inpatient care. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Mind-Body Skills Groups for Adolescents With Depression in Primary Care: A Pilot Study.

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to determine the acceptability and preliminary effectiveness of Mind-Body Skills Groups (MBSGs) as a treatment for depressed adolescents in primary care. METHOD: A single-arm clinical trial was conducted. A 10-week MBSG program was implemented in primary care. Participants completed self-report measures at baseline, postintervention, and 3 months following the MBSGs. Measures included the Children's Depression Inventory-2, Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire, Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, Self-Efficacy for Depressed Adolescents, rumination subscale of the Children's Response Style Questionnaire, and a short acceptability questionnaire. RESULTS: Participants included 43 adolescents. The total depression scores significantly improved following the MBSG intervention and continued to improve significantly from posttreatment to follow-up. Mindfulness, self-efficacy, rumination, and suicidal ideation all had significant improvement following the intervention. Acceptability of the program was strong, and attendance was excellent. DISCUSSION: Preliminary evidence suggests that MBSGs are an acceptable treatment for primary care settings and lead to improved depression symptoms in adolescents.

A Comparative Effectiveness Trial to Reduce Burnout and Improve Quality of Care.

Clinician burnout is presumed to negatively impact healthcare quality; yet scant research has rigorously addressed this hypothesis. Using a mixed-methods, randomized, comparative effectiveness design, we tested two competing approaches to improve care-one addressing clinician burnout and the other addressing how clinicians interact with consumers-with 192 clinicians and 469 consumers at two community mental health centers. Although qualitative reports were promising, we found no comparative effectiveness for either intervention on burnout, patient-centered processes, or other outcomes. Discussion includes identifying ways to strengthen approaches to clinician burnout.

Measuring Quality of Care in Community Mental Health: Validation of Concordant Clinician and Client Quality-of-Care Scales.

Measuring quality of care can transform care, but few tools exist to measure quality from the client's perspective. The aim of this study was to create concordant clinician and client self-report quality-of-care scales in a sample of community mental health clinicians (n = 189) and clients (n = 469). The client scale had three distinct factors (Person-Centered Care, Negative Staff Interactions, and Inattentive Care), while the clinician scale had two: Person-Centered Care and Discordant Care. Both versions demonstrated adequate internal consistency and validity with measures related to satisfaction and the therapeutic relationship. These measures are promising, brief quality assessment tools.