A Patient-Centered Outcomes Framework for Evaluating Behavioral Health Crisis Care

Recent federal investments have accelerated a nationwide transformation of the behavioral health crisis care (BHCC) system, raising pertinent questions about quality and effectiveness. In response to calls to collect more data and define outcomes for assessing BHCC, this study sought to identify patient-centered outcomes (PCOs) from the perspectives of individuals with lived experience of a behavioral disorder and individuals who have delivered BHCC services.

Via a multiphased recruitment approach, qualitative interviews were conducted with 120 stakeholders: peers with lived experience (N=21), direct-service providers (N=47), program directors and managers (N=44), and executive leaders (N=8). All interview transcripts were analyzed by using an open coding approach to generate emerging themes that captured measurable components of BHCC and outcomes of interest meaningful to stakeholders.

A PCO framework for evaluating BHCC was developed by mapping emerging themes to a conceptual framework adapted from Donabedian's structure-process-outcome model. Forty-five themes were identified and grouped under five domains: system structure, system implementation, system use, social outcomes, and health outcomes.

Although further efforts are needed to engage patients and providers in the process of developing specific measures, this framework provides a starting point for PCO research on BHCC.