Evaluation of the Pennyroyal Center Comprehensive Health Care Project

This project is a 4-year longitudinal study of the effects of a SAMHSA-funded program integrating primary care health services into a community mental health center serving adults with serious mental illness (SMI). Two evaluation components comprise the study: an outcome evaluation and a process evaluation. The outcome evaluation will assess the effects of the funded comprehensive health care program on the Pennyroyal Center’s clients who (a) participate in the program, and (b) consent to be included in the outcome evaluation. This component of the evaluation will examine changes in outcomes (i.e., health status and health-related behaviors and attitudes) among program participants from baseline through multiple 6-month follow-up assessments for as long as the client receives the grant-funded services. Duration and intensity of services will be investigated as potential predictors of health-related outcomes. It is hypothesized that those who receive consistent comprehensive health care services will have more positive health-related outcomes from baseline to the end of the study than those who do not. Specifically, greater duration and intensity of comprehensive health care program services will be associated with more positive outcomes, including fewer health-related problems. Participants in the outcome evaluation include adults with SMI, potentially with co-occurring substance use issues, who are served by the Pennyroyal Center in Caldwell, Christian, Crittenden, Hopkins, Lyon, Muhlenberg, Todd and Trigg Counties. Up to 275 participants will be recruited in in each year of the study. Inclusion criteria for the evaluation study will be based on inclusion criteria for participating in the comprehensive health care program provided by the Pennyroyal Center: i.e., adult clients with SMI diagnoses, ages 18-99. Participants are referred by Pennyroyal staff to UK research assistants conducting recruitment and assessments, once they have been enrolled Pennyroyal’s SAMHSA-funded primary care program. The process evaluation will assess the development and implementation of the Pennyroyal Center’s comprehensive health care program, as well as key informants’ perceptions of the quality and effectiveness of services. Specifically, the process evaluation will address the extent to which program implementation matched the proposed plan, modifications or deviations from the original plan, factors that led to modifications or changes, and impact of changes on the program. In addition, the process evaluation will explore who provided services, type of services provided, and treatment context. Participants in the process evaluation include Pennyroyal Center administrators, staff, and clients who are actively overseeing, providing services in, or receiving services through the SAMHSA-funded comprehensive health care program. Administrators and staff will be invited to participate based on their involvement in administering and/or providing grant-funded services. Criteria for inviting clients to participate in the process evaluation include being age 18 or older and being enrolled in the Pennyroyal Center’s comprehensive health program and the outcome evaluation. Approximately 15 interviews will be conducted each year, split between clients, administrators, and staff.