 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Kendon J. Conrad, PhD, Midwest Center for Health Services and Policy Research, Hines VA Hospital, 151 H, Hines, IL 60141, 708-202-8387 x25876, kjconrad@uic.edu, George Lutz, PhD, North Chicago VA Medical Center, 3001 N. Green Bay Road, North Chicago, IL 60064, Michael Matters, PhD, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2035 W. Taylor St, Chicago, IL 60612, and Edward J. Clark, MHA, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1603 W. Taylor Street, Chicago, IL 60612.
Money management is a neglected issue in maintaining persons with mental illness in the community. This study assessed whether a community-based representative payee program, i.e., money management of Social Security and/or VA benefits, coordinated with VA psychiatric care (CO-RP) can be more effective than customary treatment for veterans who have no representative payee (RP. 160 study subjects had: 1) risk for homelessness due to money management problems; 2) serious mental illness; 3) VA treatment. After random assignment to CO-RP experimental group or customary care control group, hypotheses were that the CO-RP participants would experience: 1) improved financial stability, 2) improved health-related quality of life, including less mental illness symptomtology, 3) less substance abuse, 4) improved residential status. The six month outcomes were analyzed with ANCOVA using data from a baseline pretest and six-month posttest using “intention to treat” for experimental and control group composition. Since receipt of active treatment was a concern, dosage effects were analyzed in a subsequent analysis. Preliminary findings indicate a positive effect on quality of life for the full sample. Dosage analyses indicate significant effects on financial stability and homelessness as well. The intervention is relevant to the VA since it involves an enhancement to current treatment that is rarely used but is potentially available nationwide, e.g., through agencies such as those used by the Social Security Administration. Also, CO-RP requires modest additional resources while having the potential to promote the more appropriate use of benefits and improve the outcomes of care.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Homelessness, Mental Illness
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.