Implementation of Measurement-Based Care in Mental Health Service Settings for Youth: A Systematic Review

Measurement-Based Care (MBC) is the systematic use of patient-reported data to inform care decisions and monitor treatment progress. MBC has been shown to improve patient outcomes across medical and mental health treatment settings for adults and youth. While many studies have examined the use of MBC in specific care settings, few have focused on the implementation of MBC among youth populations or across care settings. While a review has shown that use of MBC benefits youth, no published reviews exist that summarize the successful strategies and barriers to implementation models across studies in youth service settings. To address these gaps, the present systematic review (N = 25 studies) focuses on the implementation of MBC across four youth service settings, including outpatient mental health centers, medical centers/pediatric clinics, schools, and clinical psychology training clinics. Results suggest that few studies employ consistent implementation models or strategies to guide efforts. Further, there is significant overlap in the successful strategies employed as well as the barriers to implementation of MBC across youth service settings, at the client, clinician, and organizational levels. Broadly, the authors recommend on the basis of findings that future implementation work in youth service settings: incorporate comprehensive training in the use of MBC for clinicians; incorporate stakeholder feedback into the implementation process for initial and sustained use; employ digital measurement feedback systems to deliver MBC that allow for real-time feedback and continuous technical support; and employ a health equity lens in implementation efforts to help address disparities in access to and use of MBC so that all youth and families may benefit from this evidence-based practice.