Cost-Outcome Methods for Mental Health - Hardcover

Hargreaves, William A.; Shumway, Martha; Li-Wei MD MSc, Chou; Cuffel, Brian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0123251559 ISBN 13: 9780123251558

Publisher: Academic Press, 1997

Synopsis

Cost-Outcome Methods for Mental Health provides an overview of the choices and judgments used to evaluate the cost effectiveness of mental health treatment. It presents economic concepts of cost, discusses the various approaches to cost-outcome studies, and focuses on the way such studies apply to mental health. It is a practical guide rather than a theoretical treatment of cost-effectiveness analyses. Readers are guided through the process of designing cost-outcome studies; measuring costs, interventions, and outcomes; analyzing study results; and using findings to guide policy and practice. The book introduces readers who do not have a background in economics to apply economic methods of cost-outcome research, and prepares them for productive collaboration with economists in mental health services research.

• Clearly explains key economic concepts for non-economists
• Integrates the presentation of both economic and clinical aspects of design
• Provides many examples of applications to mental health services
• Authored by leading mental health services investigators

About this title

About the Author:

William A. Hargreaves is Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at University of California, San Francisco. He earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Chicago in 1959. He is an active participant in the Center for Mental Health Services Research, a multidisciplinary consortium of UC Berkeley and UCSF faculty funded by NIMH as a research center. His research interests are in the psychosocial and pharmacological treatments for schizophrenia, and in the clinical practices, organization, management, cost, and effectiveness of mental health services. In 1995 he was awarded the Carl Taube Award by the Division of Mental Health of the American Public Health Association for outstanding contributions to mental health services research.

Martha Shumway is Assistant Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco. She earned a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Berkeley in 1996. Her research interests include the cost-effectiveness of mental health services and methods of estimating the outcome preferences of persons with schizophrenia and of related stakeholders.

Brian Cuffel is Assistant Vice President, Research and Evaluation, United Behavioral Health, San Francisco, California. He earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Kent State University in 1989. He has been Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences; Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of California, San Francisco; Research Director at the Center for Mental Health Services Research; and Senior Manager with The Medstat Group, Washington, D.C. His research interests are managed behavioral healthcare, cost-effectiveness of mental health services, and psychosocial and pharmacological treatments for schizophrenia.

Review:

"In summary, this book would serve as an excellent resource for graduates and postgraduates involved in mental health outcome research. While many chapters are technical and dense in nature, this book was exciting to read in that it encouraged me, as a scientist-practitioner, to consider innovative models for integrating fiscal responsibility with effective service delivery." --JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHIATRY 61:4, April 2000

"This excellent book is engaging, clear, practical, and scientifically sound. It will enable mental health services researchers from a variety of backgrounds both to understand the literature on cost studies and to participate in such studies. Clearly the best available primer in the field, it should be a welcome resource for researchers and students alike." --ROBERT E. DRAKE, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry, Psychiatric Research Center, Lebanon, New Hampshire

"This book combines the right authors with a timely and useful subject. Like their previous works, it is certain to be well received." --HOWARD H. GOLDMAN, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore

"Cost-Outcome Methods for Mental Health is a timely textbook that helps fill a yawning gap in mental health services research - a field that has produced so few published cost-outcomes studies that the authors resort to examples from medicine rather than mental health. Recognizing the elementary phase of development of the field, the authors wisely point out that their goal is to help readers learn a new vocabulary and become intelligent consumers of cost-outcome research findings." --Barbara Dickey, Ph.D. in PSYCHIATRIC SERVICES, April 1999

"A great virtue of this book - in addition to its excellent attention to "how to" - is its focus on "why": why we have a responsibility to understand costs in addition to outcomes in mental health treatment research. The book highlights the fact that analysis of costs goes beyond statistics, into societal values...Perhaps the greatest strength of this book, however, is its extraordinary clarity in describing how to actually conduct cost-outcome research." --PSYCHOTHERAPY RESEARCH, December 1998

"This book provides a primer of cost-outcome methods in mental health services research. The authors' intention is to introduce those without a background in economics to 'applied economic methods of costoutcome research' and those with a background in research design and statistics to the specific methods of 'services research in mental health.' With ten chapters... the book provides a comprehensive description of many issues of cost-outcome research, and contains numerous useful examples for those new to mental health services research as well as to applied economic analysis. The book may also be suitable as a basic text for a graduate seminar in cost-outcome methods in mental health if it is supplemented with primary source material...Overall, this book accomplishes what no other text in the field has yet to do--it covers ground that will be useful to both health economists and mental health outcome researchers... The authors have accomplished no small feat in providing the field with a valuable new reference that provides a fair and reasoned summary of cost-outcome methods for mental health." --MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH

"The book is a practical guide rather than a theoretical treatment of cost-effectiveness analysis. Toward this end, readers who do not have a background in economics are introduced to the application of economic methods of cost-outcome research, and are prepared for productive collaboration with economists in mental health services research." --ADMINISTRATION AND POLICY IN MENTAL HEALTH (May 1999)

"This very welcome book by Bill Hargreaves and colleagues both capitalizes on and contributes to this developing mental health economics niche...Niche markets need niche textbooks. This is an excellent example of that genre, in this case a demand side textbook. The qualified or experienced health economist looking to work in the mental health field would find the book useful for its richness in examples, but the primary market-particularly outside the U.S.-is the psychiatrist, psychologist, mental health nurse, psychotherapist or mental health 'manager'. These professionals are faced with 'economic' decision every day, and are increasingly looking for informed, well-based guidance. This book ought to help enormously... The authors of this very readable book are rightly renowned for the quality (and quantity) of their work on mental health economics (and certainly not just in cost-outcomes research). Their experience and expertise shine through. Together they have authored a book that will greatly assist non-economists in the mental health field to get to grips with the principles and practice of economic evaluation." --Martin Knapp, Institute of Psychiatry and London School of Economics, U.K., in HEALTH ECONOMICS (8: 555-556, 1999)

About this edition

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0123251559
• ISBN 13: 9780123251558
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 242