Service quality as measured by service fit and mortality among public mental health system service recipients
Authors
Leff, H. StephenMcPartland, James C.
Banks, Steven M.
Dembling, Bruce
Fisher, William H.
Allen, I. Elaine
UMass Chan Affiliations
Department of PsychiatryDocument Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
2004-07-01Keywords
AdultFemale
Health Services Needs and Demand
Humans
Male
Mental Health Services
Middle Aged
*Mortality
*Public Sector
*Quality of Health Care
Risk Adjustment
United States
Health Services Research
Mental and Social Health
Psychiatric and Mental Health
Psychiatry
Psychiatry and Psychology
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Service fit, defined as consistency between mental health services judged needed and services received was measured for a random sample of service recipients in a public mental health system (N = 6588). A variant of small area analysis was used to measure the relationship between catchment area mortality rates from natural causes, suicide, and medicolegal causes and area fit scores for a variety of services. We tested the theory-based hypothesis that service fit would predict interarea variations in mortality better than simple measures of amount of service prescribed and received. We also tested the hypothesis that, controlling for relevant demographic and clinical factors, fit would be protective for mortality from all causes. Findings supported the first hypothesis. With respect to the second, service fit for only certain services was protective. Housing and clubhouses services were particularly protective, suggesting the importance of services providing social support.Source
Ment Health Serv Res. 2004 Jun;6(2):93-107.Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/45213PubMed ID
15224453Related Resources
Link to Article in PubMedCollections
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