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Working toward Wellness

An Evidence-Based Practice

Description

Working toward Wellness was a telephonic care management program for depressed parents who were enrolled in Medicaid. Master's-level clinicians provided parents with referrals to community mental health professionals, telephone counseling, and follow-up phone calls to make sure parents were complying with treatment. This program is one of four strategies being studied in the Enhanced Services for the Hard-to-Employ Demonstration and Evaluation to improve employment for low-income parents who face barriers to employment.

The project was implemented in by United Behavioral Health in Rhode Island. It was sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Goal / Mission

The goal of the Working toward Wellness program was to encourage depressed parents who were receiving Medicaid to seek treatment from a mental health professional.

Impact

The Working toward Wellness program succeeded in increasing the likelihood that depressed Medicaid parents sought mental health services, particularly among the Hispanic population.

Results / Accomplishments

MDRC, a social policy evaluation firm, conducted an evaluation of Working towards Wellness with participants who were enrolled in the program between November 2004 and October 2006. About 500 depressed Medicaid parents were randomly assigned to participate in Working towards Wellness or a control group. Preliminary results (after six months of intervention) suggest that those who were participating in Working towards Wellness experienced an improvement in their depression-severity level and were more likely to use mental health services than the control group. Notably, the impacts were concentrated among Hispanic participants.

About this Promising Practice

Organization(s)
United Behavioral Health
Primary Contact
Sue Kim
MDRC
19th Floor
16 East 34 Street
New York, NY 10016-4326
(212) 532-3200
publications@mdrc.org
http://www.mdrc.org/about/sue-kim
Topics
Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders
Community / Governance
Organization(s)
United Behavioral Health
Source
MDRC
Date of publication
Aug 2009
Date of implementation
Nov 2004
Location
Rhode Island
For more details
http://www.mdrc.org/working-toward-wellness
Target Audience
Adults
Additional Audience
Parents

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Related Content for: Working toward Wellness

An Evidence-Based Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures showing improvement in the outcome(s) of interest after the implementation of the program (i.e. increase in smoking cessation, not just the delivery of a smoking cessation program). The outcome measure(s) is/are compared at relevant time periods before and after the intervention or program implementation. Alternatively, the evaluation study compares the outcome(s) between an intervention group and an appropriate control group.
  3. The study is of peer-review quality and presents numbers in a scientific manner; measurements of precision and reliability are included (e.g. confidence intervals, standard errors), results from statistical tests show a significant difference or change in the outcome measure(s), and relevant point estimates and p-values are presented. Note: if the results from an evaluation of a program are presented in a scientific manner and the outcome measure is improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant, the practice is classified as effective and not evidence-based.
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