title: The sustainability of evidence-based practices in routine mental health agencies.
abstract: The research presented here reports on sustainability of the practices within the National Implementing Evidence Based Practices Project for people with serious mental illness. Forty-nine sites completed the initial 2-year implementation phase and were the focus of our study. Our aims were to discern the number of sites that sustained practices 2 years after implementation, the reasons for sustaining or not sustaining, differences in characteristics between the two groups, and the extent and nature of practice adaptations. We used a mixed-methods approach, based on a telephone survey that gathered qualitative and quantitative data from site representatives and others familiar with the sites and practices during the follow-up period. We found that 80% of sites sustained their practices for 2 years post-implementation, that sustainers differed from non-sustainers in several domains: financing, training, fidelity and agency leadership, and that most sites adapted practices moderately to meet state and local needs.
authors: Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center, 2 Whipple Place, Lebanon, NH 03766, USA. Karin.Swain@Dartmouth.edu
authors: Karin
authors: K
authors: Swain
authors: Rob
authors: R
authors: Whitley
authors: Gregory J
authors: GJ
authors: McHugo
authors: Robert E
authors: RE
authors: Drake
mesh_terms: D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine / Q000193:education / Q000458:organization & administration*; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007857:Leadership; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D015397:Program Evaluation; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care