Harlem Strong Mental Health Coalition

Description

This study examines the impact of Harlem Strong Community Mental Health Collaborative, a community-wide multi-sectoral coalition in which a health insurer works with community-based organizations and medical and behavioral health providers to (1) problem-solve financing, access, and quality of care barriers, (2) support capacity building for MH task-sharing for community health workers, (3) facilitate coordination and collaboration across MH/behavioral health, primary care, and social services, and (4) identify a set of common metrics and strategies for continuous system quality improvement. The research study will evaluate the impact using a Hybrid Implementation-Effectiveness design to assess the effects of the Harlem Strong Collaborative on implementation and consumer outcomes. The investigators will also describe implementation outcomes and key informant interviews to explore impact of community engagement, organization variables, and provider factors on model impact. The long-term goal of this study is to develop a sustainable model for task-sharing MH care that will be embedded in a coordinated comprehensive network of services.

The investigators will conduct a stepped-wedge clustered randomized control study evaluating the effectiveness of a MH task-sharing intervention, that involves randomization and sequenced exposure to three implementation conditions: (1) online education and resources (E&R) about MH task-sharing (screening, education, and referral), (2) community-engaged multisector collaborative care model (MCC), where a neighborhood-based coalition will support implementation of MH task-sharing, and (3) community crowdsourced technology solution to support implementation (MCC+Tech).