title: A consultative study as a catalyst for improving mental health services for rural children and adolescents.
abstract: The consultative study is one model of academic involvement in public mental health services. However, the effects of consultation and how it acts as a catalyst for change have been poorly documented. The authors describe a consultative study in which a team from a academic training center examined the system of mental health and related human services for children and adolescents in a semirural county in western Pennsylvania. They also present results of a six-year follow-up survey assessing the study's effects. Improvement in the system of care during the follow-up period included creation and maintenance of a children's unit and a partial hospital program for adolescents at the country's community mental health center. The consultative study and the follow-up survey were instrumental in establishing a comprehensive range of services, including intensive case management for severely disturbed youngsters and a home-based mental health services program.
authors.affiliation: Western Psychiatric Institute, Pittsburgh, PA.
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Petti
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Cornely
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: McIntyre
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003155:Community Mental Health Centers / Q000639:trends; D003156:Community Mental Health Services / Q000639:trends*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010347:Patient Care Planning / Q000639:trends; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000639:trends*; D010414:Pennsylvania / Q000453:epidemiology; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000639:trends*; D012423:Rural Health / Q000639:trends*