Fresh data on mental health are presented in the report 'Criminal justice involvement, behavioral health service use, and costs of forensic assertive community treatment: a randomized trial.' 'Jail diversion and forensic community treatment programs have proliferated over the past decade, far outpacing evidence regarding their efficacy. The current study reports findings from a randomized clinical trial conducted in California for frequent jail users with serious mental illness that compares a forensic assertive community treatment (FACT) intervention with treatment as usual (TAU),' scientists writing in the Community Mental Health Journal report (see also Mental Health).
'Outcomes are reported at 12 and 24 months post-randomization for criminal justice outcomes, behavioral health services and costs. At 12 months, FACT vs. TAU participants had fewer jail bookings, greater outpatient contacts, and fewer hospital days than did TAU participants. Results of zero-inflated negative binomial regression found that FACT participants had a higher probability of avoiding jail, although once jailed, the number of jail days did not differ between groups. Increased outpatient costs resulting from FACT outpatient services were partially offset by decreased inpatient and jail costs. The findings for the 24 month period followed the same pattern,' wrote K.J. Cusack and colleagues, University of North Carolina, Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research.
The researchers concluded: 'These findings provide additional support for the idea that providing appropriate behavioral health services can reduce criminal justice involvement.'
Cusack and colleagues published their study in Community Mental Health Journal (Criminal justice involvement, behavioral health service use, and costs of forensic assertive community treatment: a randomized trial. Community Mental Health Journal, 2010;46(4):356-63).
Additional information can be obtained by contacting K.J. Cusack, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dept. of Psychiatry and Cecil G Sheps Center for Health Services Research, Chapel Hill, NC USA.
The publisher of the Community Mental Health Journal can be contacted at: Springer, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA.
Keywords: City:Chapel Hill, State:NC, Country:United States, Clinical Trial Research, Mental Health, Therapy, Treatment.
This article was prepared by Biotech Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2010, Biotech Week via NewsRx.com.
