Project
CalMHSA Publications: Evaluation of California's Statewide Mental Health Prevention and Early Intervention Initiatives
Jun 2, 2016
Highlights from Evaluations of California's Statewide Mental Health Prevention and Early Intervention Initiatives
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The California Mental Health Services Authority (CalMHSA) — a coalition of nearly all of California's counties — has implemented an ambitious, first-of-its-kind set of statewide prevention and early intervention (PEI) initiatives with the broad goals of reducing mental illness stigma and discrimination, preventing suicide, and improving student mental health. The initiatives took a public health, population-based approach to developing and implementing many PEI resources and programs, beginning in 2011. This implementation was guided by a comprehensive strategic plan informed by evidence regarding the effectiveness of PEI approaches and carefully developed through a process that involved diverse stakeholders. The CalMHSA PEI initiatives were funded by Proposition 63, the Mental Health Services Act.
CalMHSA selected the RAND Corporation to conduct an independent evaluation of the PEI initiatives. This brief reviews RAND's key evaluation findings. Overall, results show that many program components were successfully implemented and achieved their intended impacts in the short term. Continued dissemination and support of effective programs will be required to sustain short-term gains and to observe longer-term impacts on the mental health, quality of life, and productivity of Californians.
CalMHSA implemented two campaigns: "Each Mind Matters" is a stigma-reduction social marketing campaign that includes branded promotional items (ribbons, bracelets, etc.) that aim to get Californians talking about mental illness; documentary screenings; the EachMindMatters.org website, which provides stigma-reduction resources; the ReachOut.com online forum, which provides support for teens and young adults; and theatrical productions for youth. "Know the Signs" is a mass media suicide-prevention effort that uses billboards and advertisements to encourage people to visit the campaign website (www.suicideispreventable.org) to learn about suicide warning signs and resources.
Training efforts targeted many different kinds of audiences, such as community members; K–12 and higher-education students, parents, and educational staff; health care providers; and other "gatekeepers" who interact with those with mental illness. Goals included providing social contact with people with mental illness to reduce stigma and providing knowledge, such as skills needed to intervene with those with mental health needs. For instance, one program trained individuals to deliver Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), who in turn trained gatekeepers — those whose jobs may put them in a position to interact with people at risk for suicide — in how to recognize and help those at risk. RAND observed some ASIST training sessions and found that new trainers demonstrated high fidelity to the prescribed training. Tens of thousands of trainings were conducted, with positive results, including the following:
CalMHSA invested in 12 suicide-prevention hotlines to support improvements in their reach and capacity. For example:
The evidence suggests that some PEI programming not only pays for itself but also yields money back to the state, when future economic benefits are projected.
Although CalMHSA's programs have made a great deal of progress thus far, there is an ongoing need for mental health PEI efforts in California. RAND's evaluation identified areas in which continued, targeted efforts are needed:
RAND's evaluation of CalMHSA's statewide PEI initiatives to date shows that extensive programmatic capacities and resources were successfully developed and rolled out. Implementation included dissemination of two major social marketing campaigns, numerous trainings throughout the state, distribution of extensive online and print materials, and regionally tailored improvements in hotline capacity.
The evaluation examined short-term impacts of key program activities and generally found that individuals reached by programs showed changes in attitudes, knowledge, or behavior consistent with the intent of the program. Furthermore, the reach to target audiences was impressive, given the relatively short period over which the programs were developed and implemented. For some program activities, RAND used evaluation findings and prior literature to project future societal benefits and costs; these simulations suggest a positive return on California's investment in the PEI programs, even under conservative assumptions.
Statewide PEI programs provide an important opportunity for California to move toward a comprehensive population-based public health approach to mental health, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. To inform planning and improve PEI programs over time, ongoing population surveillance and performance monitoring are essential. Public health literature and experience suggest that coordinated and sustained PEI efforts over several decades are often required to substantially effect changes in public knowledge, attitudes, and behavior and create shifts in social norms and institutions that improve health (e.g., regarding HIV/AIDS, cigarette smoking, and mental illness stigma).
The CalMHSA statewide PEI initiatives represent a first step toward a strategic and effective public health approach to mental health in California. RAND's evaluations of these initiatives so far has found that many programs show promise toward achieving the initiatives' broader goals, and the evaluations have highlighted several important targets for outreach and education in California's diverse communities. However, RAND evaluators suggest that California's progress toward broader goals — including reducing suicide, improving early receipt of needed services, reducing discrimination, and avoiding some of the negative social and economic consequences associated with mental illness — will require a long-term commitment to a coordinated PEI strategy that is continuously informed by population needs, evidence regarding promising and best practices, and indicators of program performance and quality.
The California Mental Health Services Authority (CalMHSA) is an organization of county governments working to improve mental health outcomes for individuals, families, and communities. Prevention and early intervention programs implemented by CalMHSA are funded by counties through the voter-approved Mental Health Services Act (Prop. 63). Prop. 63 provides the funding and framework needed to expand mental health services to previously underserved populations and all of California's diverse communities.
This report is part of the RAND Corporation Research brief series. RAND research briefs present policy-oriented summaries of individual published, peer-reviewed documents or of a body of published work.
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