Delaware Journal of
Volume 2 | Issue 5
December 2016
Public Health A publication of the Delaware Academy of Medicine / Delaware Public Health Association
1st Year Anniversar y
B E H A V I O R A L H eal t h ...an integral piece of the public health puzzle
www.delamed.org | www.delawarepha.org
Delaware Academy of Medicine Board of Directors: Officers Daniel J. Meara, M.D., D.M.D. President Omar A. Khan, M.D., M.H.S. President-Elect Victor L. Gregory, D.M.D. Vice President S. John Swanson, M.D. Treasurer Omar A. Khan, M.D., M.H.S. Secretary Arun V. Malhotra M.D. Immediate Past President Timothy E. Gibbs, M.P.H., N.P.Mc. Executive Director, Ex-officio Directors David M. Bercaw, M.D. Cynthia A. Gabrielli, D.O. Eric T. Johnson, M.D. Joseph F. Kestner, Jr, M.D. Brian W. Little, MD, Ph.D. Kathleen W. McNicholas, M.D., J.D. Joseph A. Napoli, M.D., D.D.S. John P. Piper, M.D. Anita P. Raghuwanshi, M.D. Albert A. Rizzo, M.D. Emeritus Robert B. Flinn, M.D. Barry S. Kayne, D.D.S. Leslie W. Whitney, M.D.
Delaware Public Health Association Advisory Council: Omar Khan, M.D., M.H.S. President Timothy E. Gibbs, M.P.H. Executive Director Louis E. Bartoshesky, M.D., M.P.H. Richard J. Derman, M.D., M.P.H. Gerard Gallucci, M.D., M.S.H. Richard E. Killingsworth, M.P.H. Erin K. Knight, Ph.D., M.P.H. Melissa K. Melby, Ph.D. Mia A. Papas, Ph.D. Karyl T. Rattay, M.D., M.S. Margot L. Savoy, M.D., M.P.H. Paul R. Silverman, DrPH Rob A. Simmons, DrPH William J. Swiatek, M.A., A.I.C.P.
Delaware Journal of Public Health Omar Khan, M.D., M.H.S., F.A.A.F.P. Editor-in-Chief okhan@christianacare.org Gerard Gallucci, M.D. M.H.S. & Aileen Fink, Ph.D. Guest Editor Liz Healy, M.P.H. Deputy Editor ehealy@delamed.org Christian Derr Image Director info@christianrderr.com
Delaware Journal of
December 2016 Volume 2 | Issue 5
Public Health A publication of the Delaware Academy of Medicine / Delaware Public Health Association
www.delamed.org | www.delawarepha.org 3 | In this Issue Gerard Gallucci, M.D. M.H.S. and Aileen Fink, Ph.D. a
4 | A Brief History of the Delaware Academy of Medicine at Christiana Hospital Joseph F. Kestner, Jr., M.D.
5 | Place Matters: At the Intersection of Delaware Medicine and Population Health Timothy E. Gibbs, M.P.H., N.P.Mc., Omar A. Khan, M.D., M.H.S., Daniel J. Meara, M.D., D.M.D.
8 | An Interview with Jim Lafferty Conducted by Tim Gibbs, M.P.H., N.P.Mc. and Jerry Gallucci, M.D., M.H.S.
12 | Growing Psychiatrist Shortages and the Role of Telepsychiatry in Delaware Imran Trimzi, M.D.; Carolyn Morris, M.H.S.A.; Asma Mian, M.D.; and Gerard Gallucci, M.D., M.H.S.
16 | The A’s of Influencing Healthy Eating and Active Living Michelle Eichinger, M.S., M.P.A.
20 | When Planning meets Health: Delaware’s Plan4Health Grant Fosters a Healthy Delaware Michelle Eichinger and Kristen Vales, Delaware Plan4Health Team
22 | Quantifying Medical Interpreter Activity: A Time-Motion Study Frank C Mayer III, Danielle L. Mosby, Alexandra Nightingale, Elizabeth J. Brown, Sarahfaye Heckler, Richard Caplan, Jacqueline Ortiz, Claudia Angelica ReyesHull, Adebayo Gbadebo, and Tze Chiam
28 | Alzheimer’s Disease: Our Evolving View, Our New Interventions
COVER Behavioral health is an all-encompassing term focused on mental health disorders as well as substance abuse and addiction. Behavioral Health focuses on individual health decisions, and how culture, socioeconomics, environment, physical health, emotional health, genetics, and more, translate into these decisions. Behavioral Health is a term often less stigmatized than mental health, and is critical to the overall health and well-being of individuals.
James M. Ellison M.D. M.P.H. and Katie Macklin M.P.A.
32 | Why Trauma Matters in Delaware Leslie Brower, Ph.D., R.N. 36 | A Guide to Involuntary Commitment in Delaware Michelle Joy, M.D., Sundeep Virdi, J.D., M.D., Mustafa Mufti, M.D., Clarence Watson, J.D., M.D.
38 | Psychiatric Service Utilization Trends in Delaware’s Public Mental Health System Following the OLMSTEAD Settlement Agreement Aileen Rothbard, Cynthia Zubritsky, Sumedha Chattre , Bridget Keogh, Hilary Cantiello & Susan Holloway
42 | Cigarettes & psychotropic medications: A study of the prescription pattern in an inpatient setting Sehba-Husain-Krautter M.D., Ph.D., Connie Chang M.D., Thomas A. O’Hara M.S., Joseph Esposito M.D., Vallabh Suryadevara M.D., Dolly Mishra D.O., Kiran Luther M.D., Gerard Gallucci M.D., M.H.S..
46 | Voices of the Delaware Community Reintegration Support Program (CRISP) Cynthia Zubritsky, Sumedha Chhattre, Bridget Keogh, Hilary Cantiello and Michael Barbieri Aileen Rothbard
48 | Understanding and approaching the increase in suicide rate with a special focus on the state of Delaware Connie Chang M.D., Sehba-Husain-Krautter M.D., Ph.D., Angela Golden R.N., Lee Berman M.D., Joseph Esposito M.D., Sanju George M.D., Emily Coggin Vera L.C.S.W., Jennifer Seo, Jennifer Smolowitz, Harvey Doppelt Ph.D., Gerard Gallucci M.D., M.H.S.
The Delaware Journal of Public Health (DJPH), first published in 2015, is the official journal of the Delaware Academy of Medicine / Delaware Public Health Association (Academy/DPHA). Submissions: Contributions of original unpublished research, social science analysis, scholarly essays, critical commentaries, departments, and letters to the editor are welcome. Questions? Write ehealy@delamed.org or call Liz Healy at 302-733-3989. Advertising: Please write to ehealy@delamed.org or call 302-733-3989 for other advertising opportuni ties. Ask about special exhibit packages and sponsorships. Acceptance of advertising by the Journal does not imply endorsement of products. Copyright: Copyright © 2016 by the Delaware Public Health Association. Opinions expressed by authors of articles summarized, quoted, or published in full in this journal represent only the opinions of the authors and do
54 | The Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) on Health-related Quality of Life, Mental Health, and Hospitalizations in Delaware Khaleel S. Hussaini, Ph.D., TabathaOffutt Powell, Dr.P.H., Mathew Christensen, Ph.D., Leah Woodall, M.P.A.
58 | The Relative Contributions of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Healthy Environments to Child Flourishing in Delaware Dana Thompson, M.P.H., Iman Sharif, M.D., M.P.H. and Aileen Fink, Ph.D.
62 | Improving Behavioral Health Care for Delaware’s Children in Foster Care: A Public Health Imperative Aileen D. Fink, Ph.D., Thomas I. Mackie, Ph.D., M.P.H., and Christopher Bellonci, M.D., D.F.A.A.C.A.P.
68 | Adverse childhood experiences negatively impact health behaviors and chronic disease risk among adults residing in Delaware Caprice A. Torrance, M.H.A. Kimberly Williams, M.P.H. Elizabeth Brown, M.D. Kirsten Olson, Andrea Miller, Leslie Newman, Mia A Papas, Ph.D.
70 | Delaware CORE: Early Psychosis Prevention in the First State Charles Webb Ph.D., Samantha Eklund, M.C., Adina Seidenfeld Ph.D., Geeta Kotak M.S.W. , Timothy Fowles, Ph.D.
72 | From the History & Archives Collection Elizabeth E. Healy, M.P.H.
not necessarily reflect the official policy of the Delaware Public Health Association or the institution with which the author(s) is (are) affiliated, unless so specified. Any report, article, or paper prepared by employees of the U.S. government as part of their official duties is, under Copyright Act, a “work of United States Government” for which copyright protection under Title 17 of the U.S. Code is not available. However, the journal format is copyrighted and pages may not be photocopied, except in limited quantities, or posted online, without permission of the Academy/DPHA. Copying done for other than personal or internal reference use-such as copying for general distribution, for advertising or promotional purposes, for creating new collective works, or for resalewithout the expressed permission of the Academy/DPHA is prohibited. Requests for special permission should be sent to ehealy@delamed.org.
I N THI S I SSUE
O
Gerard Gallucci, M.D. M.H.S.
Aileen Fink, Ph.D.
n behalf of the Delaware Academy of Medicine and the Delaware Journal of Public Health, it is our pleasure to serve as the guest editors for the winter issue of the Journal. This issue focuses on behavioral health and includes articles that address the importance of behavioral health as an important component of the overall health and wellbeing of our communities. The issue also includes an interview with Jim Lafferty who is retiring after 21 years as the Executive Director of the Mental Health Association in Delaware. The interview is a tribute to Jim, who has worked tirelessly to advocate for more and better mental health services for Delawareans. Jim has shown through his work and dedication, that one person can have a significant, positive impact on the lives of many people. The focus on behavioral health in the Delaware Journal of Public Health is timely. Delaware has been working to address the state’s health care challenges through development of the First Delaware State Health Improvement Plan (spearheaded by the Division of Public Health) and through the Health Care Innovation Plan, supported by a Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) grant. Both plans engaged members from State government, the health care communities and their clinical teams, academic institutions, as well as payers and consumers to assess the status of our health system and the health of our population. Both efforts are working toward the goal of transforming the State’s systems of care and improving the overall health of Delawareans. These plans have embraced the importance of behavioral health for overall health and encourage a better integration of behavioral and physical health care. The articles in this issue span a range of behavioral health topics from Alzheimer’s Disease, to early onset of psychosis in young adults. There are also several articles focused on two other key areas- the work that has been done in Delaware to improve service delivery for adults with serious mental illness and the impact of childhood adversity on health. A recent landmark milestone in the State has been Delaware’s successful completion of a 5- year settlement agreement with the Department of Justice that resulted in a re-design of Delaware’s public adult behavioral health system. Several articles in this issue describe the impact of the system re-design on the improved health outcomes and quality of life for persons with behavioral health conditions. Other articles address the effects of adverse childhood experiences (also known as ACEs) on health across the lifespan. Over the past 20 years, a body of research has demonstrated a dose response relationship between exposure to childhood adversity and numerous adult health conditions including cardiovascular, lung and liver disease, drug and alcohol use, depression and suicide. More recently, studies have also documented negative impacts of exposure to adversity on child and adolescent health and well-being. These findings have led to the suggestion that ACE exposure is a public health crisis and requires a public health approach. The articles on ACEs in this issue utilized Delaware-specific data and support the association between exposure to early adverse events and physical and behavioral health problems both in children and in adults. The articles in this issue highlight both behavioral health research and practice occurring here in our state. They illustrate the importance of viewing behavioral health as a fundamental component of overall health and wellbeing and the importance of an integrated and public health approach to preventing and responding to behavioral health conditions experienced by Delawareans. We hope you enjoy reading this special issue and that it promotes continued dialogue about how Delaware can enhance the health and wellbeing of all its citizens. Gerard Gallucci M.D., M.H.S. Medical Director Office of the Secretary Delaware Department of Health and Social Services
Aileen Fink, Ph.D. Director, Trauma Informed Care Delaware Children’s Department
3
A Brief History of the Delaware Academy of Medicine at Christiana Hospital by Joseph F. Kestner, Jr., M.D. evolved, the Academy has focused its energy and resources on three missions: medical education, the maintenance of a library, and financial aid to medical students. As part of its commitment to medical education, the Academy has maintained an auditorium/conference center in its historic building on Lovering Avenue. Over the years, this auditorium has hosted many medical conferences of all sizes and specialties. The medical staffs of the hospitals and the medical societies have held many of their deliberations in this auditorium. Many of the meetings that led to the merger of the three Wilmington hospitals and the establishment of the Wilmington Medical Center, occurred at the Academy of Medicine. Since the opening of Christiana Hospital, the epi-center of medicine in New Castle County and the focus of medical education has inexorably shifted from the city of Wilmington to the campus at Christiana. A hen Christiana Hospital opened in 1985, there was not much space
W
consequence of this has been that the present location of the Academy of
dedicated to education. Conferences, seminars, and meeting rooms
Medicine has become increasingly irrelevant to contributing to medical
were at a premium. This occurred despite that fact that the Medical Center
education. The leaders of the Academy have recognized this and also
of Delaware was the only major teaching hospital in Delaware, with many
understand that maintaining two libraries, which to a large degree,
established and respected post-graduate teaching programs and a regular
duplicate expensive books, journals and computer services, may not be in our
influx of medical students from Jefferson Medical College. Since that day in
community’s best interest.
1985, the educational mission of (now) Christiana Care has grown steadily
With this recognition and understanding, the Board of Directors of the
(see this column last month). The facilities to support these educational
Delaware Academy of Medicine, have approved exploring the feasibility of
programs has changed little.
cooperating with Christiana Care in establishing a conference center and joint
Additional building at Christiana Hospital began with the construction of interior steps between the first and second floor, and has since been a
library on the campus of Christiana Hospital. This folks, is genuinely exciting – a facility, on site, where all our
regular theme. After those two sets of steps, we’ve seen the construction and
medical conferences, seminars and symposia, would be comfortably held.
completion of the Medical Arts Pavilion, Surgi-Center, Women’s Building,
Imagine the efficiency and other benefits this would bring to our practicing
new Emergency Department, Medical Arts Pavilion II, and the current
physicians, residents and medical students. Imagine a new library, supported
construction of a new front entrance. There have been modest, if any,
by the joint resources of Christiana Care and the Delaware Academy of
concessions for educational and conference space in any of these projects. As
Medicine. Imagine .........
you know, a cancer center is planned for the near future as well as several smaller construction projects to compliment the existing hospital. The Delaware Academy of Medicine was founded in 1930 by a small nucleus of interested, concerned, community minded physicians. As it
4 Delaware Journal of Public Health DECEMBER 2016
What can you imagine? What do you think? Do you believe that the pursuit of an education/conference center at Christiana should be a priority? From Physician Focus, August 2000, a publication of the Christiana Care Health System.
Place Matters:
At the Intersection of Delaware Medicine and Population Health by Timothy E. Gibbs, M.P.H., N.P.Mc., executive director, Omar A. Khan, M.D., M.H.S., president-elect, Daniel J. Meara, M.D., D.M.D., president
E
ven before Dr. Kestner’s article (published in the August 2000 Physician Focus) there had been a meeting of the minds between the Boards of Christiana Care Health System and the Delaware Academy of Medicine. This is commemorated in the plaque placed along with the gallery of presidents of the Academy along the south wall of the Main Auditorium of the John H. Ammon Education Center. It reads: “The Delaware Academy of Medicine was founded in 1930 by fifteen physicians and one dentist. The stated purposes of their new organization were: To provide a meeting place for medical, dental, and other organizations interested in the health and welfare of Delaware citizens; to maintain a scientific library to aid physician and dentists and other seeking information in the field of medicine and dentistry; to promote professional and lay health education; and to stimulate and encourage medical education research. Between 1932 and 2006, the Academy of Medicine was located in the City of Wilmington in the former National Bank of Delaware building. In 1930-31, that structure was moved from its original location at 6th and Market street in Wilmington and rebuilt on Lovering Avenue. In 1999, the boards of Christiana Care Health System and the Delaware Academy of Medicine formed a unique strategic alliance to better serve their missions and communities. As a result, in November 2006, the offices of the Academy were moved to its current location on the ground floor of the John H. Ammon Medical Education Center. The Lewis B. Flinn medical library located on the first floor of the Education Center is a merger of the original Delaware Academy of Medicine and Christiana Hospital Libraries.” Along with the gallery of the 39 presidents of the Academy of Medicine, the lower wall outside of the main entrance to the Ammon Center announces this partnership with the simple signage “Delaware Academy of Medicine.”
Countless meetings were conducted by combinations of Delaware Academy of Medicine Board members and Christiana Care leadership between the publication of Dr. Kestner’ s article in “Physician Focus” in 2000 and 2005. First, they explored concept; later they engaged architects, designers, library consultants, archivists, and technology professionals to envision the space; and finally the funders – individual, foundation, and corporate – to support this ambitious partnership. Along the way, real estate and legal professionals were engaged to assure the soundness of the initiative and that everyone’s best interests were kept in mind. This resulted in the final partnership agreement. It took over a year of logistics and planning to prepare the Academy of Medicine for its move from Lovering Avenue in Wilmington to Christiana Hospital in Newark. On November 9th of 2006 the move started in Wilmington, and on November 16th the move concluded 5
in Newark. The Academy of Medicine, with support of many, had a new home with a 10-year lease, renewable for an additional four 10 year terms. Eight years of planning and work culminated in a 50-year agreement between two respected Delaware institutions.
In our first years in the John H. Ammon Medical Education Center we naturally partnered heavily with the staff of the Lewis B. Flinn Library and our colleagues in physician relations. We shared staff, resources, and space on the first floor of the Ammon Center including the Gail P. Gill Consumer Health Library program. We assisted in the planning and promotion of scores of professional and consumer education programs in a time before the centralization of CME activity under Academic Affairs and promotion under External Affairs. To this day, we partner on and promote many CCHS education programs, including Mini Medical School, —Preamble of the Global Health lecture series, and many subject-specific conferences chaired by CCHS and community physicians. Over the years, the Academy refocused its energies on education and the promotion of public health as we exited the library services business line. In the summer of 2016, the Gail P. Gill Library collection was merged with the Lewis B. Flinn Library collection, and that ended an era for the Academy that was born with the Academy in 1930. That space on the main floor, as well as back office space in the Flinn Library, was turned back to Christiana Care Health Systems for expansion of other critical services. Aligning with a statewide move towards population and public health, in 2015 the Delaware Academy of Medicine also became the State of Delaware’s affiliate of the American Public Health Association. Shortly thereafter, the new Delaware Public Health Association started publication of the Delaware Journal of Public Health, the only peer-reviewed journal dedicated to public health in our state.
Display cases in the Flinn Library, purchased as a part of the plan to showcase items from the Academy of Medicine’s collection, were filled. Additional display cases were purchased for placement in the hallway adjacent to the main auditorium. It was deemed essential that the history of medicine, dentistry, and public health be displayed as a part of the larger educational mission of both organizations. Locating our core collection on the lower level in a secure, climate controlled location was important as well. Over the years, we have served as an institutionally neutral ground for healthcare providers and indeed all those concerned with improved health, from Delaware hospitals and private practice to Meet, exchange views, and collectively advance medicine and public health in our state. In keeping with community partnerships, the Academy of Medicine location is also the administrative home to the Delaware Academy of Family Physicians, Delaware Nurses Association, the Delaware Chapter of the American College of Surgeons, and the Delaware Academy of Physician Assistants. These four professional membership organizations are partners in our commitment to placing the patient at the center of the care paradigm by training and collaborating across disciplines. Leadership and membership in all of these affiliates are drawn from our leading health care institutions. Location and proximity are, again, essential to this mission. All of this has been facilitated by a relatively modest but important location, near the physician entrance to the Ammon Center at Christiana Hospital. Being located proximate to the epicenter of medicine in Delaware, in one of the nation’s largest hospitals has provided access and partnership to all area foundation documents institutions. Special mention must be made of our partnership with Delaware’s community physicians, many of whom do not come to the hospital for patient care any longer, but who remain engaged in the health system through coming to Academy-sponsored and partnered meetings and events. We celebrate and honor our 10th anniversary of partnership with Christiana Care in the John H. Ammon Medical Education Center. The opening preamble of our foundation documents sums an essential concept up simply and eloquently: “Medicine, more than any other profession, undergoes constant change.” The transformation of medicine, the health of our community, and the common goals shared between Christiana Care Health System and the Academy/DPHA are a constant reminder of the enduring value of partnership, and that our work will always evolve.
“Medicine, more than any other profession, undergoes constant change.”
6 Delaware Journal of Public Health DECEMBER 2016
From the Delaware Division of Public Health
December 2016
Prepare for a healthy life by getting health insurance coverage
As Radiologic Technology students at Delaware Technical Community College (DTCC), Owens Campus, look on, Governor Jack Markell proclaimed Radiation Protection Week in Delaware as November 6-12, 2016. Speakers at the Nov. 3 event included Division of Public Health (DPH) Director Dr. Karyl Rattay, left, DTCC President Dr. Mark Brainard, back left, Authority on Radiation Protection Chair Dr. Frances Esposito (in vest), and Director of Instruction Dr. Bobbi Barends, far right. Below are Radiologic Technology students Lionel Harris and Allyson Slavin. DPH’s Office of Radiation Control collaborates with many partners to enhance radiation safety and improve health outcomes. For more information, visit www.deradiationprotection.org. Photos by Donna Sharp.
Public flu clinic Legislative Hall January 18, 2017
Ages 6 months and older
9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. 411 Legislative Ave. Dover, Delaware
Adults need photo ID.
Flu circulating in all counties
Influenza (the flu) is confirmed statewide for the 2016-2017 flu season. Governor Jack Markell urges all Delawareans 6 months of age and older to get vaccinated soon if they have not yet done so. To find vaccination sites, Google "CDC flu finder" and enter your ZIP code; visit flu.Delaware.gov; or call DPH at 800-282-8672.
The Division of Public Health (DPH) is helping everyone achieve their optimal health by helping eligible Delawareans get health insurance coverage. It is much easier to get an appointment with a doctor if you have health insurance. Health insurance also helps pay for office visits, primary care screenings, and prescriptions. The open enrollment period for the Delaware Health Insurance Marketplace will remain open until January 31, 2017. Get free help with the enrollment process and plan selections by visiting ChooseHealthDE.com. For coverage to start January 1, you must enroll by December 15, and pay the first premium by January 1. Those qualifying for financial help include individuals with annual incomes up to $47,520 and families of four with annual incomes of $97,200. Those who qualify for financial help must select a “silver” level plan. Information on Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which provides coverage to families and individuals who have limited income, is also available on HealthCare.gov. You can also apply by going to https://assist.dhss.delaware.gov. You can apply for these programs anytime. Low-income individuals who are not eligible for any of those options can apply to Health Care Connection by dialing 211 and asking to be connected. The staff will help them connect with reduced cost care at a community health center or with a private practice physician. To be eligible, an individual must be a Delaware resident, uninsured, not eligible for state coverage such as Medicaid, exempt or ineligible for the Health Insurance Marketplace and meet certain income requirements. To inquire, call 211 or send an email to DHSS_DPH_Healthaccessde@state.de.us.
6,059 lbs. drugs collected
Drug Take-Back Day, Delaware, October 22, 2016 7
Q&A
A n I nt e rvi e w with
J im L a f f e rt y Conducted by Tim Gibbs, M.P.H., N.P.Mc. and Jerry Gallucci, M.D., M.H.S. JG: So Jim, tell us about the Mental Health Association in Delaware, and how it’s evolved during your tenure as Executive Director? JL: Well, you know our mission hasn’t changed very much since the time that I joined; the mission is education, support, and advocacy. When I first started at MHA, as I can remember, there was only a depression education program that existed. Over the years, we worked extensively in the community on suicide prevention efforts and education through several suicide prevention programs, as well as mental health first aid, and all of these programs are now being provided statewide. When I started at MHA there was very little advocacy being done regarding mental health. I learned that if health was being discussed in a meeting, whether it be with the Healthcare Commission or anywhere else, if you weren’t there carrying the flag for mental health, nobody discussed it. If you did bring up mental health, nobody wanted to talk about it. It was pretty tough to go to meetings and introduce yourself and ask if the health planning discussion taking place would include mental health. The response was usually no, but over 8 Delaware Journal of Public Health DECEMBER 2016
time, people began to realize the importance of mental health. We have also grown the support groups at MHA. When I started I think there were three, and now there are many more that are statewide. The staff has grown too, and I’ve tried to put an emphasis on education in the community. We’ve grown the edu-cation part of our agency from one person to four people. All four focus on a variety of topics, such as mental health first aid, and suicide prevention, for example. It seemed to me people didn’t realize suicide was a major public health problem in Delaware…I kind of felt like we’d talk about suicide but nothing would happen. MHA founded the Suicide Prevention Coalition so that there would be a focus on Suicide Prevention. The first suicide prevention plan for the State of Delaware was developed about eight years ago, and that plan was updated about two years ago. The work that’s being done is only made possible by a really wonderful and caring staff that have their hearts in their work. They’re dedicated and they travel statewide to provide the educational programs.
JG: What were some of the challenges facing the field of behavioral health before you first became Executive Director of MHA? Do you see new or different challenges currently? JL: I think the challenge when I started was it was extremely hard to advocate for mental health services. Folks didn’t really understand the importance of good men-tal health to overall health, and weren’t prone to take the time to listen. I went to Lieutenant Governor John Carney, who was at that time the Chair of the Health Commission, and I talked to him about the problems we were having with access to mental health services. I said the Healthcare Commission’s responsibility was ac-cess, cost, and quality of care. We had a terrible problem with access to mental health services and I will always be grateful to John. To his credit, he made this a topic for a Healthcare Commission retreat, and that started to really elevate the im-portance of mental health to the top of the list. Today, through the work of the Healthcare Commission and the Delaware Center for Health Innovation, and with the work of the Innovation Grant, mental health remains at the top of the list.
The current emphasis still needs to be on integration. We know that Christiana Care, Nemours Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children as well as others, have integrated mental health care with primary care, both for adults and children. The Delaware Center for Health Innovation has a subcommittee that is working very hard on inte-gration. They published a white paper on it, and they’re now working with insur-ance companies regarding reimbursement for these services. It’s important to note that integration can take place in many forms. One way Chris-tiana Care and A.I. DuPont both achieved this was by having a mental heath profes-sional right in the primary care office. If the doctor suspects a patient has, for ex-ample, depression, they can just walk them down the hall to the mental health spe-cialist who can do a more detailed evaluation and make a recommendation to the doctor regarding treatment. Stigma still exists and there’s a lot more work that needs to be done. The most im-portant thing I think people can do regarding stigma is to stand up and explain to people how something like depression has affected them. Try to put depression in the context of just another illness. I’ve always tried to emphasize that these are medically treatable illnesses; you don’t need to suffer, seek treatment and get help… …people have this perception of mental illness that somehow you’re different, but people with mental illnesses are no different from the rest of the community…that’s the thing that I keep hoping everyone will come to realize, everybody’s equal, eve-rybody’s the same, everybody has something…everybody has a story. I also think placing emphasis on insurance and payment for treatment and access to services in the community is still problematic. Our psychiatrists in the state of Delaware are getting to the point where they’re approaching retirement, I don’t see a sufficient number of mental health professionals coming to Delaware…there’s a need for psychiatrists in the community, in both group and private practices, be-cause it’s so hard to get an appointment. If you have major depression and you try to get an appointment but you’re told it’ll be six weeks from now, that really is not ac-ceptable. Especially with illnesses like depression, since the symptoms can be so se-vere, like thoughts of death of dying,
it’s critical to get people into treatment early. This becomes part of the work force issue in Delaware, including a lack of psychia-trists, therapists, psychologists, and other mental health professionals; there is a shortage of mental health professionals in Delaware and that emphasizes the impor-tance of telemedicine in filling the gap. JG: You’ve always been a loud, and consistent voice for more and better mental health care in Delaware. Tell us about some of the ways you’ve worked to make your voice heard. JL: Probably 20 years ago, I started attending Healthcare Commission meetings. At almost every meeting there would be some sort of a health plan being discussed for the state of Delaware and I would always raise my hand as a member of the public and ask if the planning included mental health, and the answer was always no. So it took quite a few years before the Healthcare Commission began to really
‘There’s still a lot of work
that needs to be done and we need to do work on improving the quality of services in the community. ’ think about mental health conditions as a major public health problem. So, I’ve advocated before them, spoken publicly and privately with legislators, and at the Joint Finance Committee hearings, which was a real opportunity to support the Departments of Health and Social Services and Services for Children, Youth and their Families. This provided some level of information to the legislators so that they themselves began to understand the importance of good mental health to overall health. TG: On a scale of one to ten, where are mental health services in Delaware now and where were the 20 years ago? JL: I’d say an eight for now. There’s still a lot of work that needs to be done and we need to do work on improving the quality of services in the community. One of the most difficult
things in implementing these changes was an insufficient number of people who were trained in mental health to help provide these services. That is something we need to continue to work on. It’d be nice to get to ten but nothing is perfect. Twenty years ago, I’d say we were at maybe a one or two. JG: You’ve participated in many task force committees, government sponsored projects, and community and advocacy events. How did you manage to fit all of these activities in, and were there any activities in particular that you felt were most significant to advancing the cause of Behavioral Health in Dela-ware? JL: I fit them in because they were a priority, and from an advocacy standpoint I was able to speak more and more about the importance of mental health, and again try to make it a priority with various committees and meetings I attended. I’ve been heavily involved in committees in the Markell Administration, with Secretary Land-graf and various division directors and administrators who have been responsible for providing services. I’ve been asked to join some committees, and I’ve asked to join some myself. Years ago, I asked to join the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Commit-tee so that I could advocate for the importance of various psychoactive medications in treating people with mental health conditions. Beyond that, and really as a mem-ber of the committee, I worked to get various and sundry medications moved to the preferred list of drugs. At the time when I was on the committee, the question was why do you need so many antipsychotic medications, and antidepressants. It was difficult to explain that all these medications are not the same and all the individuals who receive them don’t react to the drugs in the same way. There needs to be a va-riety of options available. Other areas of priority included the Innovation Grant, and the initial work that was done to develop the grant. The Center for Healthcare Innovation actually got behav-ioral health to the top of the list, it wasn’t just me, it was members of the Healthcare Commission and others who saw the importance of integrated care. The Healthcare Commission in these past eight years has been really helpful in pro-moting the importance of good mental healthcare and integration with all other healthcare. 9
JG: You seem to have an exceptional ability to hear all sides of an issue before moving forward with a position. With this approach in solving problems and reaching goals something you developed in the industry and on the job, so to speak, or developed prior to coming to MHA? JL: I worked at DuPont for 27 years, and I took early retirement. I did a number of things there but my last position was as a consultant in Information Systems. You might wonder how I ended up at the Mental Health Association, but it was because I had a real interest and had several major bouts with depression myself. I under-stood how that illness affected me. Although I worked with Dupont Information Sys-tems, which I always enjoyed, I really just wanted to work more with people. A for-mer Director of the division we now know as Substance Abuse and Mental Health encouraged me and helped me get a job with a very small contractor in the state of Delaware. From there I began working with groups in the community. I always lis-tened to people who were living every day with a mental health condition and I learned from them and from
experts in the community and researchers, like those at NIMH. I listened because I didn’t have the answers myself and I wanted to learn more about the problems that existed, and to see if it was possible to reach some sort of consensus on a way to solve these problems. I really enjoyed listening to all perspectives and learning. JG: I know working with different client and family advocacy groups can be rewarding but also very challenging. Often different groups have competing interests and discussions can be emotionally charged. How do you counter and balance being supportive with the different interests and different points of view, while still trying to move your own agenda and position on each is-sue? JL: It can be very difficult as you said. Parents are genuinely concerned about the needs of their children, many of whom have very serious mental illnesses. Their intent is good but sometimes their loved ones don’t understand that. Parents don’t want anything to happen to their son or daughter; they want them to be safe. I’d always listen to them and respect their opinions. I must say as a Dad, I would be in the same place. On the other hand, when I listen to individuals, most of them really want to be as independent as they can. They want to be able to live in the community, work in the community, and they want to get better. So on one side, we have very caring parents and family members, and on the other side, we have individuals who want to be pretty independent. I’ve tried to listen to understand both viewpoints. I think by listening to both sides, it’s possible to advocate for the
10 Delaware Journal of Public Health DECEMBER 2016
individual, or for the family members, and to try to reach some sort of common ground. I think the big-gest thing is respect for the opinions of both sides, and for me, trying to be honest and sharing what I think about services. So, I try to uphold both sides if you will, but it gets difficult. JG: During the past five years, you saw the state of Delaware work towards meeting new requirements with the Department of Justice settlement, which has allowed more individuals with serious and persistent mental illness in in-stitutions to reside in the community with supports from an improved system of behavioral health treatment. Could you give us a perspective on the settle-ment agreement and its impact in Delaware? In particular, could you describe the gaps in the mental heath system prior to the agreement and how some of those gaps were closed? What are some of the main areas in need of more fo-cus before we have a behavioral health system that achieves health equity for all individuals with behavioral health conditions? JL: When the settlement agreement occurred, I was called by the News Journal to answer some questions. They asked what I thought of the settlement, and I said I didn’t know of anyone that was upset about this agreement because it was freeing up money to improve services in the state of Delaware. I think the administration worked very closely with the USDOJ to meet the requirements of the settlement, and I think five years was a really short period of time to implement all of the agree-ment. I think this agreement was very helpful to the state. The big thing was money was beginning to flow for mental health services. I think the Governor and Secretary Landgraf deserve our appreciation for going ahead and implementing this agree-ment. As a result of the agreement, there are now services in the state of Delaware which I feel are very important. For example, peers are now out in the community with the Assertive Community Treatment teams and they are working at Delaware Psychiatric Center. I think that was a gap that was filled, but we continuously need more peer services in the community. Also, as the agreement went into effect, one of the major thrusts was to move people from the Delaware Psychiatric Center into the community. As that happened, more community services were needed and that brought about a major expansion of these
community treatment teams. Intensive case management services were developed in the community. So for instance, if I had major depression, and I needed care man-agement services, or I needed help with housing, or my finances, the newly devel-oped Promise Program was available to help. I met a woman who was in Delaware Psychiatric Center for 13 years and I asked her why she was in the hospital and why she had been there such a long time. She just shrugged her shoulders and said she didn’t know. Here was a person that was a prime example of a person who could and should live in the community and receive care in the community The bad part about long-term hospitalization is people be-come very dependent on others for their daily needs. When they go into the community they begin to become independent and learn the skills needed to be self suf-ficient. Housing also needed to increase in the community, and there was a lot of hard work put in to provide more vouchers for folks with serious mental illness who needed housing. Housing stock is still limited in Delaware and continued efforts are still needed. Also, individuals in the community now ask their ACT team representatives for certain services and a quality improvement team from the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health meets with the individuals themselves to determine whether or not they are receiving the services they requested. There was also the development of a help line for individuals receiving services. If they were concerned or had questions about their services they were able to call an 800 number and re-port their concerns to the division. JG: Can you describe some of the projects that you think have had a significant impact on behavioral health conditions and projects you’re the most proud of? JL: Development of crisis services, particularly the development of Recovery Response Centers in Sussex Country and New Castle County, which are walk-in centers. If someone is in crisis, they can go to one of these centers and receive an evaluation, and they also have the ability to stay overnight. I think the value of this is that it has reduced quite a number of unnecessary hospitalizations, because people are being evaluated and referred to community services when appropriate. Law enforcement
can assist in the transport of individuals to the RRC and the response center will then take custody of the individual. That’s been a huge help for both the police and for the individuals.
told me millions of people have depres-sion every year. I would always ask myself, where were these people? I felt like I was the only one. Now I am with others who experience the same illness that I do.”
JG: What are some of the projects you think have been significant for the Mental Health Association and have been significant in impacting the lives of indi-viduals with mental illnesses and behavioral health conditions?
The other thing about these groups is that they emphasized the importance of get-ting the proper treatment for their illness and emphasized the fact that people do get better.
JL: I think peer support groups that were developed by MHA have always been re-covery oriented, and recovery oriented services have always been important to in-dividuals so they can do more in the community than perhaps they were able to be-cause of their illnesses. So peer support groups by people who have lived
‘I expect MHA to respond
to the needs of the community in the future… Needs change, and we’ve got to be aware of what we can do to help.’ experi-ences are very helpful. For example, we have depression support groups and the group facilitators have experienced depression themselves. The groups were de-signed in such a way that they really were people helping people, and they weren’t medically oriented. No discussions about medication were permitted. People were also able to see individuals in the group who were very ill get better and that provided hope to new people who were coming into the group. Over the years, I would see a new person come into the group, and in some cases, be very reluctant to be in the group. However, what I found was the majority of new people who came in felt they were now with a group of people who understood what they were going through. They might say their wife doesn’t understand, or their husband doesn’t understand, but they knew the people in the group understood. The other comment I heard was “my doctor
I think the agency does a really good job representing the voices of folks by advocat-ing for all those who were asking for improved services and I am proud of the agency for that. And finally, the Suicide Prevention Coalition and the educational programs regard-ing preventing suicide that are offered to the community statewide. JG: I know you assembled an excellent team who are going to continue the work you’ve done while you were Executive Director at MHA. Could you tell us about your expectations for the future of the Mental Health Association and the work that is going on? JL: Well I want to underline that MHA does have an excellent team of people who have their heart in their work. They do an excellent job of providing services to the community. I’ve been succeeded by a really wonderful person, Emily Vera, who is now the Executive Director. I’m the one who asked her to be the Executive Director and the Board agreed and I am very proud of the work she is doing. I expect MHA to be responsive to community needs in the future. MHA will continue to be responsive and flexible in responding to those needs. With Emily leading the agency, I have no concerns about the future. JG: Tell us how you plan to stay involved in the activities in the state that will promote the health and wellness of Delawareans and those who have been working to overcome mental health and substance use disorders? JL: I want to stay involved and I want to continue to advocate as I’ve advocated in the past. I’m also very concerned about violence in general especially violence in the city of Wilmington. We really need to do more with our kids. We’ve got to get kids started off in a better way. I will continue to try to get programs into all the school districts that can help give children a good start as they enter school. 11
Growing Psychiatrist Shortages and the Role of Telepsychiatry in Delaware by Imran Trimzi, M.D.; Carolyn Morris, M.H.S.A.; Asma Mian, M.D.; and Gerard Gallucci, M.D., M.H.S.
P
ublic health research continues to connect mental health with other comorbidities, signifying a need to better understand mental and behavioral health.
One in five adults are likely to experience a mental health disorder during their lifetime, and the widespread presence of these disorders is even greater in populations with chronic conditions such as diabetes, asthma, or cardiovascular disease.1
Psychiatry ranks third among the top 20 most requested healthcare provider searches by specialty. According to a study conducted by the Association of American Medical Colleges, 59 percent of psychiatrists are 55 or older, suggesting that more than half of psychiatrists may soon be retiring or decreasing their working hours.2 Aside from an aging psychiatrist population, the number of adult and child psychiatrists rose by only 12 percent from 1994 to 2013—from 43,640 to 49,079—according to the American Medical Association. During that time span, the U.S. population increased by about 37 percent. It is also significant that millions of Americans have become eligible for mental health coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Therefore, although the 12 Delaware Journal of Public Health DECEMBER 2016
number of licensed psychiatrists is steadily increasing, mental health care treatment needs are increasing at a greater rate. Delaware continues to struggle with physician shortages. So far, loanforgiveness programs plus the appeal of country or seaside living have not been enough to solve the psychiatry shortage in Kent and Sussex counties. In 2014 there were 2,157 mental health professionals licensed in Delaware. Based on the survey, 1,484 licensed mental health professions are likely to practice in Delaware; of these, only 137 were psychiatrists and the number of full-time equivalent psychiatrists was only 98, with the majority of these practicing psychiatrists located in the higher population areas of the State.3 Because full-time equivalent calculations in clude adjustment for the number of hours providing direct patient care, FTE counts are often preferred when making comparisons. This information is provided in Figure 1 (Center of Applied Demography & Survey Research, University of Delaware, Tibor Toth, Ph.D.) Telepsychiatry in the form of videoconferencing brings enormous opportunities for clinical care, education, research, and administration. Telepsychiatry has been a focus of state health policymaking in recent years, and there have been an increasing number of state regulations that facilitate or clarify reimbursements for telehealth-enabled healthcare services.
Mental Health Professionals FTE
Full-time Equivalent Mental Health Professional by County, Delaware, 2009 and 2014 800
600
office. Not included are sites where people spend much of their time, such as homes. With advances in decentralized computing power, such as cloud processing, and mobile telecommunications, such as 4G wireless, the current approach is to cover health services to patients wherever they are.” 14 Most of Delaware Medicaid coverage is provided by one of two managed care organizations, Highmark Health Options and United Healthcare Community Plan. Although the regulations requires coverage, a brief phone survey revealed that, in order to bill for telepsychiatry, United Healthcare Community Plan is updating their fee schedule and attestation of expertise must be completed by each provider to be recognized as a “Telemental Health Provider.”
400
200
0 Kent 2014
New Castle 2014
Sussex 2014
DE 2014
Kent 2009
New Castle 2009
Sussex 2009
DE 2009
Psychiatrists
17
68
13
98
19
66
7
92
ental Health M Specilaists
104
321
116
541
68
260
71
399
Total
121
389
129
639
87
326
78
491
Source: Center for Applied Demography & Survey Research, University of Delaware
Telepsychiatry services offer a promising opportunity to expand service delivery for mental health providers. This is particularly relevant for patients who find travel difficult, for patients residing in institutions, and for patients that live in medically underserved areas.4-7 Furthermore, prior studies suggest that telehealth technologies result in either similar or improved healthcare outcomes compared to traditional in-person delivery of healthcare. For example, lower mortality rates, improved chronic disease management and decreased hospital readmissions have been reported.8-10 In the US, half of telehealth-related state statutes were implemented within the last 7 years, and over 200 telehealth-related pieces of legislation were introduced in 2015.11 Although State policies surrounding telehealth have substantially expanded in number and scope, it is unclear whether healthcare providers have responded to these policies by increasing their utilization of telehealth technologies. Delaware Title 18, Sec. 3370 & Title 18, Sec. 3571R require that insurers must pay for telemedicine services at the same rate as in-person health services. Psychiatrists and other providers may not have been responsive to the policy changes. The reasons for this are unclear, but may be related to additional contractual changes required by some insurance companies. Another possibility for the low numbers of telehealth-delivered services may be the confusion over which billing code to use for telehealth or lack of coding.12 In addition to specific billing codes, more documentation is required for reimbursement for some insurance carriers in Delaware:
Medicare In eligible areas, the CPT codes may be billed with a specific modifier (e.g., “GT”); however it may be necessary to document “medical necessity” to support the need for the service. The client must reside in a designated rural location in order to qualify for Medicare billing; currently there are no areas in Delaware that qualify for the Medicare geographic designation of “rural”.13
Medicaid Delaware Medicaid policy was expanded in 2015 to include reimbursement for normally covered services when delivered via telehealth. According to the regulation: “Traditional approaches to telemedicine coverage require that the patient be served from a specific type of healthcare facility, such as a hospital or physician’s
Private Insurance In 2015, House Bill 69 (aka the “telemedicine bill”) was passed to mandate private insurance parity for normally covered services when delivered via telehealth and telemedicine.15 The bill was summarized concisely by Lacktman: “The law requires commercial insurers to cover services provided via telemedicine and telehealth to the same extent those services are covered through in-person visits. The law also protects patients against cost-shifting by requiring telehealth coverage must be subject to the same terms and conditions applicable to all other benefits under the patient’s insurance policy (e.g., deductibles, coinsurance, or other conditions for coverage)… …Moreover, the payment for telemedicine interactions must include reasonable compensation to the originating or distant site for the transmission cost incurred during the delivery of health care services” (Lacktman, N. M., 2015, para. 2, 7).”16 A brief phone survey revealed that the major carriers in Delaware (i.e., Aetna, Highmark BlueCross/Blue Shield, Cigna, United Healthcare, etc.) will allow billing for telepsychiatry CPT codes if individual plans permit it. This is due to the exemption under ERISA that protects large self-insured employers from having to adhere to state mandates. However, according to According to Highmark, of the 29 self-funded clients they administer in Delaware (with nearly 100,000 active members under the age of 65), there are 12 who have not implemented HB69. However, almost all have a “telemedicine benefit.” Only 4 clients with less than 4,000 members do not yet have a telemedicine benefit and a couple of those are considering adding one (P. Price, Personal communication, July 11, 2016). The bottom line is, for any providers interested in billing for telehealth, it is always advisable to communicate directly with each payer that could potentially be billed.
History of Telehealth in Delaware Delaware’s shortages and maldistribution of certain healthcare providers led to the pursuit of implementing telehealth within the state. Up until about 6 years ago, little activity around telehealth existed here. Two areas of particular concern - the shortages of psychiatrists and other behavioral health providers and the lack of specialists for people with Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and other movement disorders – catalyzed this initiative. In 2011, a group of about a dozen representatives from various public agencies, private organizations, and advocacy groups began collaborating to find ways to address these issues. The solution, they agreed, was telehealth; soon after, the Delaware Telehealth Coalition was formed and has since grown to over 100 members. 13
One outcome of the formation of the coalition has been the development of relationships between members leading to collaboration on specific telehealth programs. The coalition is a venue for sharing knowledge in areas of policy and operational solutions related to telehealth. The semi-annual meetings also help inspire members to explore the newest innovations in meeting the growing demand for quality healthcare while serving to bolster success and responsiveness in a changing healthcare environment. Though some barriers remain, much progress has been made in the last 6 years since the Parkinson’s advocates first approached DHSS Secretary Rita Landgraf for help. Telehealth Milestones in Delaware: • 2011 Delaware Telehealth Coalition formed • 2012 Delaware Medicaid begins reimbursing for telehealth • 2013 Delaware Telehealth Roundtable • 2014-2016 Delaware Strategic Action Plan (SAP) • 2015 House Bill 69 (aka the “telemedicine bill”) • 2015 Medicaid expands reimbursement for telehealth • 2016 Delaware Strategic Action Plan Interim Report Areas of focus for the future include updating the Strategic Action Plan in 2017, actively advocating for Medicare reimbursement for telehealth in Delaware (arguably the state’s biggest barrier to implementation of telehealth programs), and ensuring continued alignment with organizational and consumer needs within the state. For more information about the Delaware Telehealth Coalition, its mission, vision, and Strategic Action Plan, please visit http://detelehealth.wixsite.com/ detelehealth. In conclusion, telepsychiatry has been successfully used for various clinical services and educational initiatives. Educational activities may include distance learning activities to groups or individual supervision of mental health providers. It appears that telepsychiatry use will continue to grow. Its curve of growth or decline will depend on how well programs are organized and adapt to potential pitfalls. Some obstacles (for example, costs and access to broadband) will recede as technology advances. Integration of videoconferencing with other digital technologies appears particularly promising in terms of clinical care, patient and provider education, provider–specialist communication, and electronic medical records. Data are limited with regard to clinical outcomes and cost-effectiveness. More short- and long-term quantitative and qualitative research is warranted on clinical outcomes, predictors of satisfaction, costs, and educational outcomes.
6. American Psychological Association. The Mental and Behavioral Health Needs of Rural Communities. Available at: https://www.apa.org/about/gr/issues/gpe/rural-communities. pdf. Accessed December 15, 2015. 7. Price M, Williamson D, McCandless R, Mueller M, Gregoski M, Brunner-Jackson B, Treiber E, David- son L, Treiber F. Hispanic Migrant Farm Workers’ Attitudes Toward Mobile Phone-Based Telehealth for Management of Chronic Health Conditions. Journal of Medical Internet Research. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 2013;15(4):e76. doi:10.2196/jmir.2500. 8. Margolis, K. L. et al. (2013). Effect of home blood pressure telemonitoring and pharmacist management on blood pressure control: A cluster randomized clinical trial. JAMA, 310(1):46-56. doi:10.1001/ jama.2013.6549. 9. Steventon, A., Bardsley, M., Billings, J., Dixon, J., Doll, H., Hirani, S., ... & Newman, S. (2012). Effect of telehealth on use of secondary care and mortality: findings from the Whole System Demonstrator cluster randomised trial. BMJ: British Medical Journal, 344. 10. Shea, S., Weinstock, R. S., Teresi, J. A., Palmas, W., Starren, J., Cimino, J. J., ... & Eimicke, J. P. (2009). A randomized trial comparing telemedicine case management with usual care in older, ethnically diverse, medically underserved patients with diabetes mellitus: 5 year results of the IDEATel study. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 16(4), 446-456 11. Center for Connected Health Policy. (February 2015). State Telehealth Laws and Medicaid Program Policies: A Comprehensive Scan of the 50 States and District of Columbia. Available at: http://cchpca.org/state-laws-and-reimbursement-policies. 12. Wilson F, Trout K, Rampa S, Stimpson J, An Examination of Private Payer Reimbursements to Primary Care Providers for Healthcare Services Using Telehealth, United States 2009–2013 www.healthcostinstitute.org • www.nashp.org 13. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) - cms.gov. (2015, December). Retrieved August 20, 2016, from http://www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/MedicareLearning-Network-MLN/MLNProducts/downloads/TelehealthSrvcsfctsht.pdf 14. 19 DE Reg 20 07-01-15. (2015, July). Retrieved August 20, 2016, from http://regulations. delaware.gov/register/july2015/proposed/19 DE Reg 20 07-01-15.htm 15. House Bill 69 w/HA 1 SA 1. (2015, July 07). Retrieved November 03, 2016, from http://legis. delaware.gov/LIS/lis148.nsf/vwLegislation/64F03D09B27D08AE85257E030051EA4B 16. Lacktman, N. M. (2015, July 8). Delaware Enacts Telehealth Commercial Insurance Parity Law. Retrieved October 28, 2016, from http://www.natlawreview.com/article/delawareenacts-telehealth-commercial-insurance-parity-law Imran Trimzi, M.D., is Board Certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology Dr. Trimzi has over 18 years’ experience in the field of psychiatry. Dr. Trimzi completed his adult psychiatry residency at Drexel-Hahnemann University School and also served as an assistant instructor at the University of Pennsylvania. He served as the chief fellow from July, 2002-June, 2003. In January 2007, he joined DSAMH and has been working as the Program Director of the Delaware Psychiatric Residency Program since October 2007. Dr. Trimzi is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Thomas Jefferson Medical School and holds a faculty position at the Drexel University College of Medicine. Carolyn Morris is the Director of Telehealth Planning and Development with Delaware Health and Social Services (DHSS) and co-chair of the Delaware Telehealth Coalition. Prior to her current role with DHSS, Ms. Morris served as a Planner with the Division of Services for Aging and Adults with Physical Disabilities. She holds a Master’s degree in Health Services Administration and
References:
a Bachelor of Science in Database Administration, both from Strayer University, and earned her
1. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/prevalence/any-mental-illness-ami-among-adults.shtml
certificate as a Telehealth Program Manager.
2. Crary, David. There’s A Serious Shortage Of Psychiatrists In The U.S. As public awareness of mental illness increases, the shortage of psychiatrists worsens. Sept 8, 2015. http:// www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/theres-a-serious-shortage-of-psychiatrists-in-theus_55eef13ce4b093be51bc128f 3. http://dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/dph/hsm/files/mhpinde2014.pdf 4. Hartley D. Rural Health Disparities, Population Health, and Rural Culture. American Journal of Public Health. 2004; 94(10):1675–1678. 5. Office of Rural Health Policy. Health Resources and Services Administration. Mental Health and Rural America: 1994-2005. Available at: ftp://ftp.hrsa.gov/ruralhealth/ RuralMentalHealth.pdf. Accessed December 15, 2015.
14 Delaware Journal of Public Health DECEMBER 2016
Gerard Gallucci, M.D., M.H.S. is the Medical Director in the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services. He holds degrees from Columbia College (NY), George Washington University (DC) and Johns Hopkins (Baltimore). He completed his residency in Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins followed by a NIH-sponsored fellowship in Psychiatric Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. He currently holds faculty positions at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Thomas Jefferson Medical College, and Drexel University College of Medicine.
DTC
BRINGING ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE, WORLDCLASS, PATIENTCENTERED HEALTHCARE THROUGHOUT THE STATE
Who we are The Coalition is a diverse group of healthcare stakeholders, including state agencies, local healthcare organizations, non-profit groups, commercial technology organizations, and members of the community.
To facilitate the use of telehealth to improve access to high quality healthcare throughout Delaware
Vision Statement Telehealth will be fully integrated into Delaware’s healthcare system so that all residents will have equitable access to affordable, world-class, patientcentered healthcare throughout the state.
DEDICATED TO IMPLEMENTING THE LATEST TELEHEALTH TECHNOLOGIES Become a part of the initiative to incorporate telemedicine into Delaware’s healthcare system and join the DTC as a representative of your agency, organization, or group. The DTC meets semi-annually to engage in collaborative activities and discuss the implementation and use of telehealth technologies so that Delawareans are delivered the best health services available. Smaller workgroups meet more frequently than the entire coalition to address issues that are vital to the advancement of telehealth in Delaware and to implement the Delaware Strategic Action Plan (SAP). All members will receive pertinent emails regarding the DTC’s upcoming events and advancements in telemedicine.
15
Available The A’s of AFFORDABLE Influencing ACCESSIBLE Healthy Eating APPEALING and Active Living by Michelle Eichinger, M.S., M.P.A.
I
n the work of addressing obesity, there has been a movement to focus on policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) change strategies. These PSE strategies are seen as sustainable with wide reach impacting populations that influences behavior to reduce obesity1,2. In 2009, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report on recommended community strategies to combat obesity which stated, “reversing the U.S. obesity epidemic will require population level change that focuses on adopting policies and creating environments that support healthier lifestyle choices.3” However, what are the characteristics to influence behavior with these strategies?
16 Delaware Journal of Public Health DECEMBER 2016
For nearly a decade working in this field and pushing for policy and environmental changes, I developed criteria that help explain those characteristics. Often diet and activity behavior seem to be associated with cost and convenience, but looking at this more closely, these A’s allow to explain behavior influences, especially as it relates to identifying equitable approaches. These influencing characteristics need to be considered in the context in which the desirable behavior is taking place—at home in their community, at school or learning environment, at the workplace and in its community, and at places of play, leisure and recreation and their environments 4,5.
Available Is the healthy behavior available to the individual where they live, work, learn and play? This may seem obvious, but when it comes to opportunities to engage in healthy in behaviors, those opportunities need to be available in the context in which behaviors take place. For healthy eating and active living, it is important to examine the different environments to explore gaps in opportunities to support healthy eating and be physically active. These gaps may differ depending on the setting in which the target behavior is taking place. Does your worksite have healthy choices in the vending machines? Does the rural community have a grocery store? Are there safe places to walk in your neighborhood? There are strategies to increase the availability of healthy food and physical activity opportunities. In areas lacking a grocery store, often the solution for increasing healthy food opportunities does not include putting a grocery store. Mobile markets, produce carts, community gardens and transforming corner stores to include the sale of health food can increase opportunities for healthy food3. Vending machine provide quick, convenient snacks, which often are unhealthy, in the work place and schools. Healthy vending offerings give people choice to have a healthy alternative3. Physical activity opportunities have various challenges, especially in urban and rural areas. Zoning for mixed use would provide walkability and bikability opportunities and green spaces3. In addition, shared-use agreements with schools allow for public use of indoor and outdoor faciliites3.
AFFORDABLE Is the healthy behavior affordable to the individual? Cost has been a prohibitive factor in healthy living, especially as it relates to diet choices and physical activity. In terms of diet, there is a cost disparity between nutrient-rich foods and less healthy food options6. This, of course, poses an economic challenge, and potential barrier, for those from a lower socioeconomic status. According to Drewnoski , “affordability of healthy foods may have more of an impact on food patterns than does distance to the nearest store. Grains, added sugars, and added fats are inexpensive, good-tasting, and convenient. Their consumption has been linked to lower quality diets, lower diet costs, and lower socioeconomic status.7” This leads to the paradox of obesity among those with lower socioeconomic status. Low income and poverty are associated with food insecurity, or reduced quality, variety and desirability of diet with disrupted eating patterns8. However, food insecurity has been associated with increased risk of obesity9. The correlation between food insecurity and obesity presents the paradox, where despite limited food intake has increased risk of overweight and obesity, largely due to poor quality of food that are energy-dense. Physical activity opportunities may also come with a cost which can present a barrier toward the active living lifestyle. Fitness center
memberships, recreation fees can be prohibitive to participation and there is evidence suggesting that sport participation among youth decreases with increasing cost, especially from low-income families 10-12 . Cost as barrier to physical activity opportunities, such as sports, has led to disparities among low-income youth participation in recreation and sport activities10-11. However, there are pricing strategies to address affordability and costs as a prohibitive factor in healthy living. These may include discounts on fitness and recreation fees for those receiving public benefits and creating a price differential between healthy food and unhealthy food options12. In addition, increasing awareness of Federal programs such as the USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Women, Infant and Children Nutrition Supplement Program (WIC), and Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program and WIC Farmer’s Market Nutrition Program provide affordable opportunity for those eligible.
ACCESSIBLE Can an individual get to the healthy opportunity? While a healthy choice may be available, is it accessible to everyone? The term “accessible” is broad, but in this document the term will focus on the ability to get to destinations via transportation. There are transportation disparities as it relates to aging, disability, race/ ethnicity and income. In terms of race and ethnicity, about 20% of African American, 14 % of Hispanic and 13% Asian households do not have a car13. In addition, about 40% of those with disabilities, or about 6 million people, have transportation difficulties, such as inability to drive or do not have access to other modes of transportation14. Further, more than a half million people with disabilities do not leave home14. Also, nearly 25% of households in poverty do not own a vehicle, compared to 98% of households whose income is $100,000+ have at least one vehicle15. Transportation inequities contribute to disparities in employment, healthcare and access to healthy food and physical activity amenities. Equitable transportation solutions factor the challenges for various socio-economic demographics and other geographic challenges, such as in rural communities. Equitable transportation solutions such as community design allowing for safe walkability/bikabilty and public transit allow opportunities to increase accessibility. Community design and the built environment can foster walkable and bikable destinations. This not only allows for transportation alternatives but the ability to walk and bike to places provide an opportunity itself for physical activity. Distance to playgrounds and parks has been associated with their use. Those who living further away, especially in rural areas are less likely to visit parks or playgrounds16 Mixed-used community design that combines, residential, commercial and institutional uses has been recommended to increase opportunities for physical activity3. This allows for walkability and use of transit. Regular transit use is associated with higher physical activity17. Public transit provides accessibility opportunities especially for the elderly, low-income and those with disabilities. As it relates to 17
healthy eating and physical activity, public transit that connects residential to grocery and farmers’ markets increases access to healthy food. In rural areas, often public transit is limited, but there is a desire for improved transportation systems to recreation places10.
APPEALING Is the opportunity to engage in healthy behavior appealing? Appealing in this context is an umbrella term that identify other factors that contribute to engaging in healthy behaviors. There are many factors that contribute to appeal, and when considered may improve equity—safety, addressing stigma and culturally-appropriate. Neighborhood safety, whether perceived or real, has been associated to impact physical activity. While we want to promote more green space, parks and playgrounds, it is important to identify safe, convenient and comfortable strategies in the context of neighborhoods and communities18. Stigma has long been a barrier for individuals participating in public programs and engaging in healthy behaviors. Efforts are need to ensure discretion for those participating in public programs, as well as educating and raising awareness of behaviors and programs to reduce and eliminate stigma. Stigma presents a barrier for eligible individuals to participating in the USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Women Infant and Children Nutrition (WIC) Supplement Program or the National School Lunch Program, Free and Reduced Meal Program. For example, students understand that participation is income based and low-income and poverty are associated with feelings of shame and embarrassment19. These feelings may prevent students from participating since peers recognize a social order and hiding their status is preferred. There are several strategies to reduce stigma or eliminate identification in participating in these programs, including avoiding separate lines between competitive foods and food programs and implementing a cashless system for all students20. For adults, a cashless point-of-sale system at farmer’s markets accepting SNAP and WIC, such as the use of tokens for all purchases for everyone, reduces identification of those participating in WIC or SNAP. In addition to participation in public benefits programs, there has been stigma associated with active transportation and use of transit. For example, some individuals assume that walking or cycling as forms of transportation, such as getting to work, is the result of losing his/her drivers’ license. This may be more relevant in rural communities since active transportation is not common among residents21. Whether it is age, race/ethnicity, disability, factoring cultural sensitivity can facilitate healthy behaviors. For example, social networks of common demographics, especially among minority populations are known enablers to physical activity22. There are no uniform criteria for culturallyappropriate interventions to support healthy behaviors23. Instead, it is important to explore and understand culturally-appropriate characteristics in the context of behavior in a community that will be appealing to population groups. 18 Delaware Journal of Public Health DECEMBER 2016
References 1. Payne G, Leeman J, & Farris R (2011). Translating knowledge to program action for nutrition, physical activity, and obesity interventions. Translational Behavioral Medicine, 1, 367-8. 2. Frieden T (2010). A framework for public health action: the health impact pyramid. American Journal of Public Health, 100, 590-5. 3. Keener, D, Goodman, K, Lowry, A, Zaro, S, & Kettel Khan, L (2009). Recommended community strategies and measurements to prevent obesity in the United States: Implementation and measurement guide. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 4. Brownson R, Haire-Joshu D, & Luke D (2006). Shaping the context of health: a review of environmental and policy approaches in the prevention of chronic diseases. Annual Review of Public Health, 27, 341–70. 5. Sallis J, Cervero R, Ascher W, Henderson K, Kraft M, & Kerr J (2006). An ecological approach to creating active living communities. Annual Review of Public Health, 27, 97–322. 6. Monsivais, P, McLain, J, & Drewnoski, A (2010). The rising disparity in the price of healthful foods: 2004-2008. Food Policy, 35(6), 514-20. 7. Drewnowski, A & Rolls, B (2012). Obesity treatment and prevention: New directions. Basel: Karger. 8. United States Department of Agriculture. Economic Research Service. Definitions of Food Security. http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/foodsecurity-in-the-us/definitions-of-food-security.aspx access on November 7, 2016. 9. Frongillo, E & Bernal, J (2014). Understanding the coexistence of food insecurity and obesity. Current Pediatric Reports, 2, 284-90. 10. Moore, J, Jilcourt, S, Shores, K, Evenson, K, Brownson, R & Novick, L (2010). A qualitative examination of perceived barriers and facilitators of physical activity for urban and rural youth. Health Education Research, 25(2), 355-67. 11. Holt, N, Kinglsey, B, Tink, L & Shrerer, J (2011). Benefits and challenges associated with sport participation by children and parents from low-income families. Psychology of Sport & Exercise, 12, 490-9. 12. Steenhuis, I, Nooy, S, Moes, M, Shuit, A (2009). Financial barriers and pricing strategies related to participation in sports activities: the perceptions of people of low income. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 716-21. 13. Berube, A., E. Deakin, and S. Raphael. Socioeconomic Differences in Household Automobile Ownership Rates: Implications for Evacuation Policy. In Risking House and Home: Disasters, Cities, Public Policy (J. M. Quigley and L. A. Rosenthal, eds.). Institute of Governmental Studies, Berkeley Public Policy Press, Berkeley, Calif., 2008. 14. U.S. Department of Transportation: Bureau of Transportation Statistics. (2003). Transportation Difficulties Keep Over Half a Million Disabled at Home. 15. Federal Highway Safety Administration (2014). Mobility challenges for households in poverty. FHSA NHTS Brief. 16. Buro, B, Gold, A, Contreras, D, Keim, A, Mobely, A, Oscarson, R, Peters, P, Procter, S, & Smathers, C (2015). An ecological approach to exploring rural food access and active living for families with preschoolers. Journal of Nutrition Education & Behavior, 47(6), 548-54. 17. Saelens, B, Vernez Moudon, A, Kang, B, Hurvitz, P, & Zhou, C (2014). Relation between higher physical activity and public transit use. American Journal of Public Health, 104(5), 854-9. 18. Bennett, G, McNeill, L, Wolin, K, Duncan, D, Puleo, E, & Emmons, K (2007). Safe to walk? Neighborhood safety and physical activity among public housing residents. PLos Med, 4(10), 1599-1607. 19. Stein, K (2008). Erasing the stigma of subsidized school meals. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 108(12),1980-3. 20. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Division of Community Health. A Practitioner’s Guide for Advancing Health Equity: Community Strategies for Preventing Chronic Disease. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services; 2013. 21. Seguin, R, Connor, L, Nelson, M, LaCroix, A, Eldridge, G (2014). Understanding barriers and facilitators to healthy eating and active living in rural communities. Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/146502 22. Eyler, A, Baker, E, Cromer, L, King, A, Brownson, R, Donatelle, R (1998). Physical activity and minority women: a qualitative study. Health Education and Behavior, 25(5), 640-52. 23. Kreuter, M, Lukwago, S, Bucholtz, D, Clark, E, & Sanders-Thompson, V (2002). Achieving cultural appropriateness in health promotion programs: targeted and tailored approaches. Health Education & Behavior, 30(2), 133-46.
Michelle Eichinger is President of Planning4Health Solutions, a public health consulting firm that integrates health data in community planning, design, and public policy. She has over 10 years of experience in program development; grant writing; and policy analysis as they relate to chronic disease prevention and health promotion. Michelle earned her Master of Science in Health Promotion with concentrations in Lifespan Health and Disabilities, as well as a Master in Public Administration with concentrations in Health Policy and Organizational Leadership.
Let Us Know How You Are Submitting Your Immunization Records to the State WVMI & Quality Insights is conducting an online assessment to verify how every practice in Delaware is currently sending patient immunization information to the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH). Since it is now mandatory for providers to report all immunizations for both adults and children to DPH’s Immunization Program, it is important for providers to get on track with submitting immunization records electronically as paper submissions will no longer be accepted after December 2017. Your feedback to this survey will help the DPH determine which practices are still submitting paper reports, which practices are still in the testing mode of electronic submission, and which practices are actively submitting their immunization records electronically. This online assessment is very brief and should only take a minute or two to complete. We greatly appreciate your prompt response. Did you already receive a printed copy of the Immunization Assessment? This summer a community health worker hand-delivered informational packets to healthcare provider offices throughout Delaware which contained information and resources about two projects that Quality Insights is spearheading for the Delaware Division of Public Health, the Hypertension and Diabetes Control & Prevention initiative and the Immunization e-Submission campaign. Included in this packet was a printed copy of the Immunization Assessment. If you have not already completed the assessment, please do so as soon as possible.
CDC Director Kicks Off 2016-2017 Flu Vaccination Campaign On September 29, 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) along with other public health and medical groups kicked off the 2016-2017 flu vaccine campaign at a telebriefing held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Members of the public and health care professionals were urged to follow the CDC’s recommendation for everyone age six months and older to be vaccinated against influenza each year. CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. presented vaccination coverage estimates from the 2015-2016 influenza season, which were released online, and received a flu vaccine. Visit the CDC website to learn more. Download the CDC’s 2016-2017 Influenza Letter to Health Care Providers to learn more about recent updates regarding the 2016-2017 influenza season.
Confirming Your Immunization e-Submit Status Is Easy Contact Quality Insights of Delaware, a division of WVMI & Quality Insights, today to verify if your practice is still in the testing mode of e-submission or if you are actively e-submitting immunization records to DPH. If you need assistance transitioning from the test mode to active status, we can help! Contact Ashley Corzine, Quality Insights Practice Transformation Specialist, via e-mail or call 1.877.987.4687 ext. 137.
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When Planning meets Health: Delaware’s Plan4Health Grant Fosters a Healthy Delaware Michelle Eichinger and Kristen Vales, Delaware Plan4Health Team
H
ow do we integrate health in land use and community planning? The Delaware Chapter of the American Planning Association (DE APA) and the Delaware Public Health Association (DPHA) came together to pursue the Plan4Health grant through a partnership of the American Planning Association (APA) and the American Public Health Association (APHA) Plan4Health program, which is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). What is Plan4Health? The Plan4Health program aims to combat two determinants of chronic disease-lack of physical activity and lack of access to nutritious foods, and to work with local coalitions to promote the inclusion of health in non-traditional sectors. By connecting communities across the country and funding work at the intersection of planning and public health, coalitions can work together to create healthy places for their community. Coalitions, in turn, work within the communities to increase access to healthy food or increase opportunities for active living where residents live, work, and play.
How Delaware was Awarded Leveraging the Delaware Coalition for Healthy Eating and Active Living, the DE APA and DPHA decided to target Kent County. Although Kent County is the least populated of the three counties, it has the highest rate of obesity within the State,
according to County Health Rankings. The obesity rate in Delaware has doubled since 1990 and children in Kent County are the most overweight. Additionally, Kent County contains multiple food deserts and has the fewest miles of off-road trails in Delaware. Kent County residents also engage in regular physical activity much less often than residents in other Delaware counties. In reviewing Kent County disparities as a function of race/ethnicity, Black males have the highest rate of heart disease deaths (256.4 five-year age-adjusted rate 20052009) followed by White males (235.0), black females (182.1), and white females (148.2). According to Nemours Health and Prevention Services, not only are children from Kent County the most overweight in the state, but African-American children have the lowest rates of meeting the daily recommended five servings of fruit and vegetables and the recommended amount of 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical
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activity per day, which are less than any other race in the county. It is these disparities among race/ethnicity and geographic location that served as the catalyst to forge a concerted effort in improving health in Kent County. As a result, the Delaware Coalition for Healthy Eating and Active Living (DE HEAL), along with its partners, have channeled efforts to address equitable strategies to improve opportunities for healthy eating and physical activity.
Delaware’s Plan4Health Project The Delaware Plan4Health Team includes representation from the planning and public health communities who are also members of the Delaware Coalition for Healthy Eating and Active Living (DE HEAL). This team decided to leverage the timing of the scheduled comprehensive plan updates for the city of Dover and Kent County to integrate health and equity and improve opportunities for healthy eating and active living through the built environment. A comprehensive plan is a formal document that presents a vision of what a community aspires to be. Comprehensive plans are used as tools for planners to guide their decision-making about the built and natural environment in a community. Traditionally, these plans are intended to inform decisions around land development and growth; however, as issues involving health and its impact on community
sustainability have increased, so too has the need to address them head on in planning decisions. A comprehensive plan can be a vehicle to do just that, linking concepts in traditional planning (land use, open space, transportation, and housing) with health (physical activity, healthy eating, pollution, and safety). However, addressing health is one factor, but as important is the addressing health through the lens of equity. Through this grant, the Delaware Plan4Health Team is creating a model to address health and equity through planning. In addition, this model will address: • Opportunities for physical activity by increasing access to parks and recreation facilities and improving sidewalk/bicycle connectivity and infrastructure through community design/planning/policy; • Opportunities for healthy eating by increasing accessibility, affordability and availability of healthy foods through community design/planning/policy; and • Improved land use patterns and urban design to facilitate the above.
Understanding and Health and Equity Priorities in Kent County and Dover During the course of the grant, The Delaware Plan4Health team sought to better understand specific health and equity needs for the communities as it relates to healthy eating and active living. This included a community survey identifying needs related to increasing healthy food availability and accessibility and physical activity opportunities such as walkable neighborhoods and park access. In addition to the community survey, the Delaware Plan4Health conducted a health and equity analysis to identify equity priority areas as it relates to healthy food access, walkability, bikability, and parks and open space. These data were then used to create a map of priority areas for more targeted interventions. In addition, the Delaware Plan4Health team chapter led efforts in public and stakeholder engagement through two 3-day planning charrettes. Each charrette was conducted in areas identified as an equity priority area, one in downtown Dover and one in a rural area of Kent County. A charrette is planning and design term that brings together planners and other stakeholders for an intense work session of brainstorming ideas and crafting
strategies to address community needs. The charrettes involved local city and county planners, landscape architect consultant and representation from local schools, public health, and community-based organizations. Results from the charrette and health and equity analysis findings contributed to the framework for planning, policy and programmatic recommendations to increase the affordability and availability for healthy foods and efforts to enhance transit options, parks and open space, and walkable and bikable infrastructure. In addition to these recommendations, the Delaware Plan4Health team applied a tool to assess how health and equity are addressed in the current comprehensive plans for City of Dover and Kent County. The Comprehensive Plan Score Card was created through partners from Nemours Health and Prevention Services. This score card allowed the Delaware Plan4Health Team to recognize areas in the comprehensive plans to improve the health link with planning decisions. This process includes carrying out a planning charrette by bringing together the public and disciplines in planning, design and public health for an intensive session of exploring opportunities linking health and planning, with a focus on equity. With the preliminary analyses and results from the charrette, the Delaware Plan4heatlh team will have a framework and guidance in incorporating health and equity to the comprehensive plan updates for the City of Dover and Kent County.
Expected and Anticipated Outcomes By bringing together public health and planning, the Delaware Plan4Health team hopes to foster a culture of health in planning and policy decisions. The Plan4Health grant will provide the City of Dover and Kent County planners and officials with guidance document of specific language integrating health and equity to include in the chapters of the comprehensive plan updates, as well as a examples of best practices and polices related to affordable healthy food access, walkability and bikability support and infrastructures, and uses of open space for healthy eating and active living. In addition to the guidance documents for comprehensive plans, the Delaware
Plan4Health team prepared health and equity analysis of the regional pedestrian and bicycle plans. During the charrette, the team created conceptual plans for a bicycle network in Kent County that connects local towns and areas for healthy food, and for downtown Dover connected residential areas with parks, public spaces and healthy food retail. These plans are currently being considered by the Dover/Kent Regional Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for funding prioritization with the Delaware Department of Transportation. Although recommendations identified through this grant will be incorporated into the comprehensive plan updates, implementation will require further funding. The Delaware Plan4Health team will be pursuing funding opportunities. While funding is pending for specific strategies, the Plan4Health will develop toolkits specific for Delaware to implement efforts for affordable healthy food access and active living initiatives. These toolkits will be geared toward Delaware organizations and agencies to implement once funding becomes available. The Delaware Plan4Health Team anticipates health and equity being integrated in planning as an institutional change in future planning and policy decisions. The culture of health allows health being considered in decision-making, even by nontraditional health partners, such as planning, transportation and economic development. The Plan4Health project has been a catalyst to this thinking and is laying the groundwork for supporting a healthy Delaware.
Delaware Plan4Health Team David Edgell, Delaware Office of State Planning Coordination Patti Miller, Nemours Health and Prevention Services Tim Gibbs, Delaware Academy of Medicine/ Delaware Public Health Association Bill Swiatek, Wilmington Area Planning Council Ann Marie Townshend, City of Dover Department of Planning and Inspections Mary Ellen Gray, Kent County Department of Planning Services Michelle Eichinger, Planning4Health Solutions 21
Quantifying Medical Interpreter Activity:
A Time-Motion Study Frank C Mayer III1, Danielle L. Mosby1, Alexandra Nightingale4, Elizabeth J. Brown1, 3, Sarahfaye Heckler1, Richard Caplan1, Jacqueline Ortiz2, Claudia Angelica Reyes-Hull2, Adebayo Gbadebo1, and Tze Chiam1 1Value Institute, Christiana Care Health System 2Language Services Department, Christiana Care Health System 3Department of Family and Community Medicine, Christiana Care Health System 4University of Delaware
I
n 2010, 25.2 million people who were considered to be of Limited English Proficiency (LEP) faced challenges when seeking healthcare in the primarily English language based US healthcare system.1 LEP patients are likely to experience longer hospitalizations, medication errors and decreased use of preventative services than those conversant in English.2 Studies suggest that LEP patients have a 2.5 times greater risk of being physically harmed by an adverse medical event than nonLEP patients.2,3 Use of medical interpreter services has been shown to improve communication, satisfaction, and medical guidance adherence among LEP patients.4 To reduce disparities
in healthcare delivery, both state and federal regulations have mandated that large hospitals and providers who deliver care to LEP patients offer interpreter services.5 Providing high quality, cost-effective healthcare to LEP patients can pose significant challenges, including identifying patients in need of services, tailoring care to best suit patients’ needs, and determining who is responsible for the costs associated with interpretive services.6,7 Unfortunately, efficient interpreter staffing models have yet to be established.8 Optimal staffing not only contains institutional costs by improving utilization of interpreter services, but also helps ensure the provision of superior healthcare and an exceptional
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patient experience. Unlike nurse and physician staffing models, there is limited literature on quantitative ways to optimize interpreter staffing in hospitals and health systems.9–11 This leaves only ad hoc methods for determining the level of staff required for each shift. Building an optimized model for medical interpreter services staffing would require a thorough understanding of interpreter activities. Born of scientific management principles that were developed in the early part of the 20th century, time-and-motion studies provide a way of capturing detailed information about specific tasks in real time.12,13 During a time-and-motion study, a worker’s activities are recorded along with the start and end times of each activity as
well as the location in which they are performed, in order to capture the complete workflow process. These study designs are used by various industries including health systems as part of process optimization as they allow investigators to quantify costs, determine the distribution of resources, and identify factors affecting patient safety and quality measures.14–16 A review of the literature revealed that, to date, there have been no time-and-motion studies conducted on medical interpreter services that quantify the amount of time spent on work-related activities. We utilized a timeand-motion study design to capture direct and continuous observations of selected interpreters. The objective of this study was to gain insight into the workflow of Spanish language medical interpreters by determining the amount of time spent on work-related activities. These results can be used to inform the development of staffing models for medical interpreter services.
Methods Setting The study was conducted at a large, independent community academic medical center. The language services department at the medical center employs 14 interpreters in 9 fulltime positions. The current number of discrete patients seen each year is unknown. Because the campus includes an Emergency Department (ED) with a level I trauma center, inpatient, and outpatient services, medical interpreters provide services in a variety of settings.
Participants Six Spanish interpreters were willing to participate and consented. We chose to restrict the study to only full-time Spanish language interpreters due to current staffing. Approval was obtained from the Christiana Care Health System (CCHS) Institutional Review Board, as well as from the Department of Human Resources, as required by hospital policy for any study involving employees. Although patients were not the focus of the study, a verbal consent form for the observer to remain in the room during the interpretation was read to the patient in Spanish, and a written version was provided in both Spanish and English. The consent emphasized that data collection efforts would center exclusively on interpreter activities and would not include protected health information associated with the patient.
Data Collection Two research aides were provided cultural awareness training prior to on-site data collection. Preliminary observations were conducted to create a list of tasks that captured the scope of interpreter activity to be utilized during data collection. None of the preliminary data was included in the results for analysis. Observations were scheduled over a 1-week period in February 2016 during the hours of 7:30AM and 5:00PM, depending on the work shifts of the participating interpreters. This period was also chosen based on prior data showing that 81% of interpreter service occurred during these hours. In order to collect a representative sample, data collection took place in four to eight hour shifts during both the morning and afternoon with a total of 47.5 hours of observation completed. A standard data collection form was designed to capture date, start time, end time, type of activity, location, and additional comments. The comments section allowed the observers to capture descriptions of activities as needed, or to add depth to the observations for analysis. To determine the level of inter-rater reliability (Cohen’s Kappa), the observers jointly shadowed an interpreter for an additional fourhour shift. We excluded interpreter’s personal time, as this data was not collected to improve interpreter services, but rather determine the actual amount of time spent by interpreters on certain activities.
Data Analysis Activities were classified as either “value added” or “non-value added.” (Table 1)
Activities necessary for patient care were classified as value added; all other activities were non-value added. Discussions occurred with CCHS’s Director of Cultural Competence to ensure activities were classified correctly and resolve disagreements of classification of activities. Descriptive statistics were calculated using Tableau 8.3 and SAS 9.4.
Results The joint observation resulted in a Cohen’s Kappa coefficient of 0.83 with a 95% confidence interval (0.69, 0.97), indicating a high level of inter-rater agreement.17,18 Interpreters spent time on 20 different activities, as shown in table 2. Interpreters spent the largest amount of time interpreting for patients (32.97%), followed by waiting (17.64%), and travelling (11.15%). Interpreters spent 67% of their time performing value added activities and 33% of their time performing non-value added activities.
Variation of Activity Time Table 2 shows the standard deviation, in minutes, of time spent on each observed activity. Despite exhibiting low frequencies, ‘dispatch,’ ‘translations,’ and ‘meetings’ demonstrated the greatest variability. The lack of variability of the activity defined as ‘incident report’ is due to the collection of only a single data point for this particular activity.
Location Interpreters frequented a variety of different locations within the main hospital and in several off-site locations. The percentage of total time spent in each location is summarized in Table 3.
Figure 1. Spaghetti Diagram of interpreters’ movement throughout hospital during one week of observation 23
A spaghetti diagram was created to map the actual physical movement of interpreters through the hospital. Figure 1 represents the physical movement of interpreters during one day (8 hour shift), but the pattern was similar on all other observed days. This diagram highlighted interpreter activity throughout the hospital, and shows how many places within the hospital the interpreters go to on a daily basis. While interpreters continuously retrace their movements, this is necessary due to the requirements of the job and the layout of the hospital.
Discussion Medical interpreters play a crucial role in facilitating effective communication between LEP patients and their providers; however, a lack of information in the literature on interpreter workflow hinders the optimal utilization of this essential service. The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the workflow of medical Spanish interpreters. This study is intended to be used as a platform for future research into workflow and staffing level optimization of medical interpreter services at CCHS, which may help reduce disparities in healthcare delivery.19 Despite the administrative and logistical activities required of them, medical interpreters in this study spent the largest percentage of their time actively interpreting for patients. Although engaging in interpretation with the patient and provider is the primary function of interpreters, there was no quantification of such activities prior to this study, and no guarantee that interpretation was their primary occupation while at work. The percentage of time that the medical interpreters in this study spent interpreting for patients (32.97%) may seem low but is consistent with the amount of direct patient contact exhibited by other healthcare professionals, including the amount of time physicians and nurses spend with patients (27.5% - 37.0%).20–22 Time spent interpreting for patients, however, is not the whole picture. It is also worth noting that time spent ‘traveling’ or walking from one interpretation encounter to the next consumed more than 10% of the interpreters’ time. When combined with other linguistics activities such as interpreting for other people who are not patients, engaging in translation activities, assisting with video remote interpretation, and consulting with providers,
more than 50% of interpreters’ time is spent directly on interpreting, and 67% of interpreter time was spent on value-added activities. The quantification of interpreter activities can be leveraged to inform future staffing needs by demonstrating the value of this service and the performance of individual interpreters. We found wide variation in activity duration, which reflects a common challenge in healthcare planning. Inconsistency in the time required to complete an activity complicates the development of effective staffing models. Although variability is inevitable in service industries, including healthcare, it does pose challenges to institutional operations and needs to be taken into consideration when attempting to improve utilization of interpreter services.23 Some of the variation observed in this study may be exacerbated by the short duration of the study or the low influx of LEP patients into the hospital. However, variation in the length of
Medical interpreters play a crucial role in facilitating effective communication between LEP patients and their providers; however, a lack of information in the literature on interpreter workflow hinders the optimal utilization of this essential service. encounters requiring interpretation is primarily due to patient and provider needs, or to the complexity or acuity of illnesses being treated. The inability to accurately predict the length of value added activities can have a negative impact on the expediency and quality of care received by LEP patients. For example, underestimations in the time required to complete an interpreting consult results in interpreter delay, causing extended wait times for other LEP patients requiring interpretive services. It should be noted that several of the activities classified as non-value added are mandated by hospital policy as a safety measure to protect LEP patients from possible harm. For example, interpreters must respond to all trauma and stroke codes and alerts. While most trauma and stroke alerts are for non-LEP patients, having language services staff present on arrival facilitates rapidly establishing communication in
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these time sensitive situations for LEP patients. However, in this study, all tasks performed by the interpreter for non-LEP patients were considered non-value added and were recorded as such. Interruptions were a frequent nonvalue added occurrence, and consisted of any unanticipated break in a scheduled activity, excluding the starting of another activity. Interpreters are required to leave the patient’s room when a provider is not present (such as when nurse briefly leaves to get supplies or check test results), resulting in substantial interruptions in the interpreter’s workflow. The vast majority of the interruptions observed occurred under these circumstances. Time spent waiting without an otherwise scheduled activity is neither value added nor hospital mandated, representing an opportunity for workflow improvement. Written translation services for the hospital are one way to more efficiently utilize wait time. Full-time interpreters who were qualified to work on translations have time designated for this task and are able to translate during time otherwise unscheduled for interpretation. Significant gains may also be made through greater communication between the language services department and healthcare providers on how to most effectively schedule interpretations and how to best utilize the services of the interpreter when present at the bedside. This study had several limitations. Data collection and interpreter observation was only conducted over a one-week period, and may not be fully representative of annual trends in language services utilization and staff efficiency. All observations were at a single site and during regular business hours. Our results and study design may not be applicable to other healthcare settings with fewer staff or a smaller Spanish LEP population. For future studies, we recommend that all available shifts be observed, including nights and weekends, to cultivate a more representative sample of interpreter activities and duration of activities performed. Because outpatient clinics represent an area with workflow challenges that differ significantly from that of the inpatient setting, additional data should be collected from these sites. Future quantification of non-value added activities could also be used for performance improvement initiatives.
Conclusion Time-and-motion studies can be used as an effective method for gaining insight into workflow and service utilization, providing a foundation for the development of effective staffing models. This study serves as a platform for future investigations into interpreter services, as well as quantifications of value added activities that improve patient experience and outcomes.
Acknowledgements We would like to thank the interpreters for participating in this study. Additionally, we would like to thank the patients that allowed us to shadow the interpreters when this study was conducted. References: 1. Migration Policy Institute. LEP Data Brief. Limited English Proficient Individuals in the United States: Number, Share, Growth, and Linguistic Diversity. Retrieved from: file:///C:/ Users/801159481/Downloads/LEPdatabrief.pdf. 2. John-Baptiste A, Naglie G, Tomlinson G, et al. (2004). The effect of english language proficiency on length of stay and in-hospital mortality. J Gen Intern Med. 19(3):221-228. 3. Divi C, Koss RG, Schmaltz SP, Loeb JM. (2007). Language proficiency and adverse events in US hospitals: A pilot study. Int J Qual Heal Care, 19(2): 60-67. 4. Wilson E, Chen AH, Grumbach K, Wang F, Fernandez A. (2005). Effects of limited English proficiency and physician language on health care comprehension. J Gen Intern Med. 20(9): 800-806. 5. Federal Register. Executive Order 13166 of August 11, 2000 Improving Access to Services for Persons With Limited English Proficiency. Federal Register. Vol. 65, No. 159. Retrieved from: http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/crt/legacy/2010/12/14/eolep.pdf. 6. Regenstein M, Andres E. Hospital Language Service Programs: A Closer Look at Translation Practices. (2014). J Health Care Poor Underserved, 25(4):2003-2018. 7. Ku L, Flores G. (2005). Pay now or pay later: Providing interpreter services in health care. Health Aff. 24(2):435-444. 8. Blanchfield BB, Gazelle GS, Arocha IS, Hacker K. (2011). Providing language interpretation Services. J Health Care Poor Underserved, 22(2): 523-31.
9. Zeltyn S, Marmor YN, Mandelbaum A, et al. (2011). Simulation-Based Models of Emergency Departments: Operational, Tactical, and Strategic Staffing. ACM Trans Model Comput Simul. 21:25. 10. Zhu H, Tang J, Gong J. (2013). Nurse Staff Allocation in a Multi-stage Queuing System with Patients ’ Feedback Flow for an Outpatient. iBusiness. 90-95. 11. Al-Najjar SM, Ali SH. (2011). Staffing and Scheduling Emergency Rooms in Two Public Hospitals: A Case Study. Int J Bus Adm. 2(2):137-148. 12. Taylor FW. (1914). The Principles of Scientific Management. New York, New York: Harper and Brothers Publishers. 13. Gilbreth FB, Gilbreth LM. (1919). Fatigue Study: The Elimination of Humanity’s Greatest Unnecessary Waste, a First Step in Motion Study.New York, New York: The Macmillan Company. 14. Jenkins BM, Bakker-Dhaliwal R, Summers MD, et al. (2000). Equipment performance, costs and constraints in the commercial harvesting of rice straw for industrial applications. ASAE Annu Int Meet. 1-27. 15. Hendrich A, Chow MP, Skierczynski BA, Lu Z. (2008). A 36-hospital time and motion study: how do medical-surgical nurses spend their time? Perm J. 12(3): 25-34. 16. Adler P. (2014). Time and Motion. Harv Bus Rev. 71(1):95-103. 17. Landis JR, Koch GG. (1977). The measurement of observer agreement for categorical data. Biometrics. 33(1): 159-174. 18. Viera AJ, Garrett JM. (2005). Understanding interobserver agreement: The kappa statistic. Fam Med. 37(5): 360-363. 19. Jacobs EA, Sadowski LS, Rathouz PJ. (2007). The impact of an enhanced interpreter service intervention on hospital costs and patient satisfaction. J Gen Intern Med. 22(SUPPL. 2): 306-311. 20. Westbrook JI, Duffield C, Li L, Creswick NJ. (2011). How much time do nurses have for patients? A longitudinal study quantifying hospital nurses’ patterns of task time distribution and interactions with health professionals. BMC Health Serv Res. 11(1): 319. 21. Hollingsworth JC, Chisholm CD, Giles BK, Cordell WH, Nelson DR. (1998). How Do Physicians and Nurses Spend Their Time in the Emergency Department? Ann Emerg Med. 31(1): 87-91. 22. Ammenwerth E, Spotl HP. (2009). The time needed for clinical documentation versus direct patient care - A work-sampling analysis of physicians’ activities. Methods Inf Med. 48(1): 84-91. 23. Frei FX. (2006). Breaking the Trade-Off Between Efficiency and Service. Harv Bus Rev. 84(11): 92-103.
Table 1. Definition of Value Added and Non-Value Added Activities Value Added Activities
Definition
Travel
Walking to/from meetings or interpreting appointments
Interpreting for patient
Engaged in interpretation with patient and provider
Interpreting for others
Engaged in interpretation with family members or others
Meetings
Attending staff meetings
Inputting Data for Database
Logging information into service hub through computer or iPad
Personal Protective Equipment
Donning protective equipment before and after leaving a patient’s room
Consult
Speaking with providers about patient/interpreting process, without patient present
Education
Educating provider on how to use Service Hub or call for interpreter services, or on hospital policy regarding appropriate communication
Trauma
Waiting in the trauma bay to find out if patient is LEP; considered Interpreting for patient if patient is LEP
Dispatch
Working as dispatcher
All patient activity
Any activities involving patients that do not fit into other categories
Translating
Translating written documents
Video Remote Interpretation
Assisting with video remote interpretation (VRI)
Non-Value Added Activities
Definition
Travel- cancelled appt
Appointment is canceled while in transit (including if patient is non-LEP)
Looking for supplies
Looking for supplies
Interruptions
Provider leaves patient room shortly, requiring interpreter to leave
Waiting-unscheduled
Waiting for appointment to be scheduled or between appointments
Waiting- testing/other
Waiting in the vicinity of the patient when test results are pending
Incident Report
Filing a report regarding hospital policy related concerns 25
Frank C. Mayer III, M.B.A.
Table 2. Time per activity, Percentage of Total Time, Count, Mean, and SD spent by interpreters on each defined activity in minutes
Frank has an MBA in Health Care Management and is currently studying medicine at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. While working as
Time per Activity
Percent
N
Mean
SD
Interpreting for Patients
968.37
32.97
111
8.72
7.76
Waiting- Unscheduled
518.10
17.64
40
12.95
10.5
Travel
327.35
11.15
72
4.55
3.19
Meetings
206.50
7.03
10
20.65
18.43
Waiting for Test Results
180.32
6.14
24
7.51
6.11
Interruptions
150.57
5.13
55
2.92
3.22
Input for Database
145.22
4.94
52
2.79
5.54
Dispatch
110.63
3.77
3
36.88
50.46
Translating
107.55
3.66
7
15.36
14.68
Consult
75.83
2.58
46
1.65
1.70
Interpreting for non-patients
41.20
1.40
13
3.17
2.86
Elizabeth J. Brown, M.D., M.S.H.P.
Travel—Canceled
33.22
1.13
11
3.02
1.19
Dr. Brown is a family physician joing Christiana Care as the inaugural
Video Remote Interpretation
15.67
0.53
2
7.83
1.85
the Department of Family and Community Medicine.
Education
15.22
0.52
7
2.17
1.82
Personal Protective Equipment
12.83
0.44
11
1.17
1.06
Incident Report
11.83
0.40
1
11.83
0.00
Other Cancelled Activities
11.48
0.39
4
2.87
1.85
Looking for supplies
4.93
0.17
2
2.47
1.78
Activity
a research aide at the Value Institute, Frank assisted on several projects including time and motions and Emergency Department utilization. Danielle L. Mosby, M.P.H.
Ms. Mosby is a research associate at the Value Institute. Ms. Mosby has been on multiple projects while working at Christiana Hospital, with the subject matter ranging from trauma, infectious disease (Clostridium difficile, RSV/ Flu), experimental treatments such as fecal transplants, and sepsis (including two
grants: U54-GM104941 (PI: Binder-Macleod), and 1R01LM012300-01A1 (PI: Miller)). Alexandra Nightingale, B.S. Alexandra has a Bachelor’s of Science in Environmental Studies, and is currently completing a premedical post-baccalaureate program at the University of Delaware in preparation for medical school. She hopes to use her experience in policy, economics, and sociology to provide comprehensive and thoughtful care to patients and to continue to conduct research in the field of public health.
Harrington Clinical Scholar in the Value Institute, and as a faculty member in
Sarahfaye Dolman (nee Heckler) M.P.H., M.T.A. Mrs. Dolman is currently a research associate in the Value Institute. In her current
position, she works closely with other Value Institute scholars and is involved with the Delaware Clinical and Translational Research (DE-CTR) program.
Richard Caplan, Ph.D. Dr. Caplan is a senior biostatistician at the Value Institute. His experience in
clinical research has been in oncology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases; with an emphasis on larger studies in chronic disease. Dr. Caplan’s interest in clinical
Table 3. Percentage of total time spent in each location within the hospital Emergency Department 39.9%
research and public health brought him to Christiana Care.
Outpatient Area 6.4%
Jacqueline Ortiz, M.Phil. Jacqueline is the director of cultural competence and language services in the
Office of Health Equity. She directs efforts to improve access to healthcare through
Surgical Area 6.6% Administrative Area 11.3%
a variety of programs and initiatives.
Claudia Angelica Reyes-Hull, M Arch Claudia Angelica Reyes-Hull earned a Bachelor in Architecture from the Monterrey Institute of Technology (ITESM) and a Master in Architecture from the University of Texas at Austin. As the Manager of Language Services Christiana Care Health System in Newark, Delaware, she oversees interpreters, schedulers, translators and external vendors that provide language services
Christiana Care staff and patients.
Women and Children’s 13.8%
Adebayo Gbadebo, M.B.A. Mr. Gbadebo is a senior system analyst with over 15 years of experience within the healthcare industry. At the Value Institute, Mr. Gbadebo interacts with investigators to conceive, design, and prepare complex datasets for analysis.
Tze Chao Chiam, Ph.D. Dr. Chiam is the associate director of research informatics in the Value Institute.
Inpatient Floors 22.1%
He is a the principal investigator of multiple research studies where he and his team utilize multi-method approaches including statistical methods, computer simulation, operations research, data visualization, and other techniques to solve pragmatic problems.
26 Delaware Journal of Public Health DECEMBER 2016
Fifth Annual
Neurovascular Symposium John H. Ammon Medical Education Center, Christiana Hospital Campus • Newark, DE
Save the Date
April 21, 2017 christianacare.org/neurointerventionalsurgery 17NS1
America’s Health, Innovation, Technology, and the United States Presidential Election | Eliot Sorel, M.D., D.L.F.A.P.A.
A
Fifth Annual
ddressing America’s health and healthcare is one of the challenges • current minimal emphasis on health promotion and protection, for the next president of the United States, since the U.S. healthcare as well as illness prevention; system represents now nearly 20% of America’s GDP. • lack of health insurance coverage (and thus access to care of millions for The United States takes great pride in its extraordinary health research Americans); and and discoveries; excellent academic medical centers; dynamic, innovative • continued care of the uninsured our hospitals’ John H. Ammon Medical Education Center, Christiana Hospital Campus Newark, DE emergency rooms • through information and communication technology sector; and, the surge in (the most expensive, fragmented, and inefficient means technology applications across the healthcare system. of care delivery). Although the Affordable Care Act has increased Americans’ access to care Disruptive health and healthcare innovation, along with a judicious and and the aggregate US healthcare budget is now approaching $3 trillion, millions smart use of technology as a tool in service to innovation, will be essential to of Americans still do not have access to care. respond to these American health systems’ challenges. The United States, the richest country in the world, is the only developed Equally important is the seamless integration of attending to populations’ economy where not all of its citizens have access to care. TOTAL health, beginning with the perinatal period by providing incentives for That high (and rising) cost of US healthcare is likely unsustainable, health behavior changes (in both care receivers and care providers), promoting given its current trajectory. and protecting health and wellness, preventing illness, and emphasizing shared Despite substantial expenditures, the American healthcare system does responsibility (among care receivers, providers, payers, and policymakers). not rank in the top ten in the world. For those who do receive healthcare, All Americans across the life cycle should enjoy access to quality health care the quality of that care is highly variable. in a sustainable system. The next American President will need to address these In the next few years, the U.S. healthcare system will be significantly tested challenges and opportunities and create the incentives for disruptive innovation by the following: christianacare.org/neurointerventionalsurgery that will assure access, quality, and sustainability of health and healthcare for • aging healthcare workforce; all Americans. Such a mission has intrinsic value and economic value added. • retirement of a sizable segment of practicing physicians; 17NS1
Neurovascular Symposium
Save the Date
April 21, 2017
• on-going (and growing) shortage of nurses; • burden of non-communicable diseases; • re-emergence of communicable diseases;
Its accomplishment must be one of top priorities for the next US president’s agenda for health reasons, economic reasons and for our nation’s security. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author.
27
Alzheimer’s Disease: Our Evolving View, Our New Interventions
by James M. Ellison M.D. M.P.H. & Katie Macklin M.P.A.
A Current and Future Public Health Crisis
A Disease Model In Evolution
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) looms over our aging population like no other health problem. Its soaring prevalence, high cost of care, and lack of a curative treatment threaten our entire health care system, which struggles to address the needs of an estimated 5.4 million affected Americans and their caregivers. This year alone, nearly half a million Americans age 65 or older will develop AD. By mid-century, someone in the U.S. will develop the disease every 33 seconds. Delaware, as a favored retirement destination, is home to some 26,000 people with AD or a related disorder, and this number will increase substantially in coming years.1
Psychiatry’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5 (DSM 5), published in 2013, revised both the name of dementia, now termed Major Neurocognitive Disorder, and the criteria by which it is diagnosed.3 In contrast to DSMIV, which specified that there be not only a memory impairment sufficient to impair social or occupational functioning but also significant impairment in one of several specific neurocognitive domains, the DSM 5 instead permits diagnosis of a Major Neurocognitive Disorder when impairment of any one or more of six neurocognitive domains (memory, complex attention, executive function, visuospatial function, language, or social cognition) is impaired sufficiently to compromise independence. Among other benefits of these diagnostic criteria, this new definition permits diagnosis of AD even when memory disturbance is less prominent than another cognitive impairment. That important change facilitates the recognition of AD variants such as Posterior Cortical Atrophy, in which visual complaints may dominate the clinical presentation; or Primary Progressive Aphasia, a disturbance of language which can be caused by Alzheimer’s or other neurodegenerative pathology.
Barring the development of medical breakthroughs to prevent, slow, or stop the disease by 2050, the number of people age 65 and older with AD may nearly triple by then. As the number of affected people skyrockets, the direct and indirect costs of care are also expected to explode. AD is already America’s most costly disease in terms of health care and long term care expenses. The annual national cost of health care, long term care, and hospice is substantial for those with AD and other dementias. In 2016, the total payments for direct care of people with AD, including long term care and hospice, are estimated at $236 billion, of which $160 billion will be borne by Medicare and Medicaid. 2 In 2015, nearly 16 million unpaid caregivers, family members and others, provided 18.1 billion hours of additional care to people with AD and other dementias at an estimated value of $221.3 billion.2 By 2050, total annual payments for care of people with AD and other dementias are projected to increase to more than $1 trillion (in 2016 dollars).2 The Alzheimer’s crisis demands urgent action. 28 Delaware Journal of Public Health DECEMBER 2016
In addition to revising the diagnosis of dementia, DSM 5’s new Neurocognitive Disorders category contains a syndrome new to the main body of the DSM: Mild Neurocognitive Disorder.3 This new diagnostic entity is similar to Mild Cognitive Impairment, an earlier syndrome that has been informally recognized by clinicians and explored by researchers already for decades. Mild Neurocognitive Disorder is diagnosed when an individual is impaired in one of the six DSM neurocognitive domains enough to evoke compensatory behaviors, yet not so severely impaired as to endanger general independence. The inclusion of this new diagnosis is a recognition
that neurocognitive impairment represents a spectrum of changes from very mild to very severe. Although mild neurocognitive disorder can reflect one or more of many possible causes, the link between amnestic mild cognitive changes and the later development of AD appears to be an important one. Research now supports the idea that AD pathology is present even earlier than the stage of Mild Neurocognitive Disorder. Although DSM 5 has not yet incorporated this further evolution in diagnostic classification, the notion of a presymptomatic phase of AD encourages clinicians and researchers to explore the value of very early detection and intervention. The accumulation of amyloid plaques during a presymptomatic phase of AD is now recognized as evidence of the disease’s extended preclinical development.4 Data from sophisticated neuropsychological assessment tools and advanced neuroimaging tools such as voxel-based morphometry, diffusion tensor imaging, FDG-PET, and PET amyloid scans suggest possible approaches to early detection and measurement of preventive interventions’ effects.
The Anguishing Problem of Noncognitive Behaviors Although DSM 5 broadens the diagnostic criteria for AD very significantly, it remains as silent as earlier DSMs regarding the importance of the non-cognitive behaviors that complicate dementia diagnosis, treatment of affected patients, and support of caregivers’ wellbeing. Auguste D, whom we know as Alzheimer’s first patient with the disorder that later took his name, required institutionalization because of her delusions and agitation.5 These symptoms, along with aggression, hallucinations, apathy, anxiety, depression, wandering, sexualized inappropriate behavior, and disturbances of eating and sleep, affect the vast majority of people with AD, complicating their lives and those of their caregivers. No approved treatment or universally effective treatment approach is available to guide management of these disruptive behaviors. The FDA-indicated medications for AD have limited effectiveness in treating AD’s behavioral symptoms. The antipsychotics, still commonly in use for treatment of AD-associated agitation despite amassed evidence of their potential harm and limited benefits, are gradually being replaced by other medications with less potential for harm even though they are not always able to provide benefits. Citalopram, which carries a dose limit suggestion and boxed warning for use in the elderly related to QTc prolongation, and other serotonergic antidepressants reduce agitation in some individuals with AD.6,7 Serotonergic antidepressants used for this purpose are off label, as are the other medications or approaches for which preliminary data suggest some utility: dronabinol7, quinidine/dextromethorphan7, prazosin8 analgesics7, and electroconvulsive therapy9. Hormonal treatments have been employed in treating agitation and sexually inappropriate behavior, though their use must be carefully considered in light of adverse effects and limited efficacy.10,11 These somatic approaches may sometimes be avoided, and always should be joined with, nonpharmacologic behavioral approaches that shape behavior by understanding the behavior’s origin and meaning, designing an effective environmental response, and monitoring that response’s effectiveness. Descriptions of the behavioral method named DICE, for Describe/Investigate/Evaluate/Create, have offered useful detail on each of these nonpharmacologic approach components.12
Treatments On The Horizon The FDA has approved 4 cholinesterase inhibitors and one NMDA modulator for treatment of AD. These medications statistically exceed placebo in effectiveness, yet the side effects of the cholinesterase inhibitors can be distressing or even dangerous, and many clinicians long for medications that will bring more clinically significant benefits to a greater number of patients. More than 1900 clinical trials in AD are currently listed at www.clinicaltrials.gov and many of them are actively recruiting subjects in order to test new treatment approaches.13 The “amyloid hypothesis”, still regarded by many researchers as the key to understanding AD pathology, underlies many of these trials. According to the amyloid hypothesis, the brain cell membrane amyloid precursor protein (APP) undergoes an abnormal clipping by β and γ secretase enzymes, producing toxic amyloid peptide fragments termed-amyloid oligomers (abbreviated as Aβ). These oligomers circulate in blood and cerebrospinal fluid, where they interfere with synaptic function. They also aggregate and deposit in the brain, stimulating an inflammatory reaction and brain cell death as they produce the amyloid plaques of AD. Aβ is implicated also as a factor in the hyperphosphorylation of tau protein, which destroys the internal structure of neurons, resulting in AD’s other hallmark finding, neurofibrillary tangles. The amyloid hypothesis has led to testing of medications which target toxic amyloid’s production, aggregation, and persistence in the brain. So far, this approach has produced results positive enough to encourage further exploration. Current focus is largely on a second generation of immunotherapy agents that induce “passive immunity” through injection of pre-made antibodies possessing a limited duration of action before their destruction or elimination. Several of these experimental agents have been shown to reduce CNS amyloid load. A more limited body of evidence has linked treatment with a delay in cognitive decline, but only in early-stage individuals. A new generation of studies is testing these passive immunotherapy agents on prodromal AD subjects. The newer members of this class of medications appear less frequently to cause the microhemorrhages noted with the earlier agents. While the amyloid hypothesis continues to dominate, other AD research is addressing the effects of experimental agents on non-amyloid aspects of the disease. The destructive role of tau hyperphosphorylation is being challenged with medications which inhibit tau aggregation or target modified tau protein. The recognized glycemic dysregulation of AD is being addressed by medications which improve glycemic control or medical foods designed to provide the brain with a non-glucose energy source. Anti-inflammatory agents are being tested in order to understand the role of inflammation in AD’s pathology. Other new experimental agents address potential issues with serotonergic or other neurotransmitter function. Behavioral treatments currently being studied include yoga, physical activity, and hearing aids to reduce the sensory isolation experienced by some AD patients. More invasive non-medication approaches in current testing include electroacupuncture, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, direct cranial stimulation, and deep brain stimulation. For a more detailed discussion of current approaches to AD treatment research, the interested reader is referred to www.clinicaltrials.gov13 or the excellent recent review by Godyń and colleagues.14 29
A diagnosis of AD is life changing, and can leave an affected person and the members of his or her care system feeling isolated and unsure of where to turn for information and support.
Alzheimer’s Disease Is A Public Health Priority Nationally And Locally The impact of AD is felt across all sectors of society and has become a pivotal public health issue. In 2012, the first ever National Alzheimer’s Plan to Address AD was enacted with the goal of preventing and effectively treating Alzheimer’s by 2025. As the scientific community races towards this goal, it is vitally important that the clinical needs of individuals and families already impacted by AD be addressed as well. The same year that the National Alzheimer’s Plan was enacted, Delaware began the development of its own plan to address the state’s current and future needs with respect to AD. The Delaware State Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders, a blueprint to enhancing the state’s dementia-capability, was published in 2014.1 The Plan includes five overarching goals: 1. Promote public awareness of Alzheimer’s disease; 2. Improve the delivery of services to persons with Alzheimer’s disease; 3. Strengthen the support of caregivers of persons with Alzheimer’s disease; 4. Achieve an Alzheimer’s competent workforce in the State of Delaware; and 5. Improve and expand Delaware’s Alzheimer’s and dementia-related infrastructure (data, quality assurance, research) by supporting the creation of a Delaware Center for Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias [DECARD]. This plan is currently in an implementation stage, overseen by a Steering Committee and being carried out by interdisciplinary stakeholder committees charged with working towards the State Plan’s goals and recommendations. 30 Delaware Journal of Public Health DECEMBER 2016
Know and Use Delaware’s Resources A diagnosis of AD is life changing, and can leave an affected person and the members of his or her care system feeling isolated and unsure of where to turn for information and support. It is important for individuals and caregivers to know that they are not alone; that there are supportive resources available in the community to help families navigate the journey required in order to cope with AD. The State of Delaware has already committed considerable resources to assisting individuals with AD and their caregivers. The Delaware Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) provides information about such services in Delaware as adult day care programs, respite care, care management, and elder law providers.15 The Alzheimer’s Association, the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer’s care, support and research, is very active in Delaware through its Delaware Valley Chapter. The Alzheimer’s Association offers a variety of programs and services to support those living with the disease as well as their families and caregivers throughout every stage of the disease’s progression. The Association’s mission is to eliminate AD through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support for all affected; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health. The regional office in Newport and a Branch office in Georgetown offer programs and services addressing the unique needs of caregivers and people living with dementia. Clinicians and caregivers are likely
to find useful information in the Alzheimers Disease pocketcard App.16 The chapter’s 24/7 free Helpline, at 800-272-3900, is its primary and most popular service. Translation is available for as many as 200 languages. Online, information is available the national organization’s website (www.alz.org) and at the Delaware Valley website (alz.org/ delval). The association’s annual Delaware Dementia Education Conference, to be presented this year on 11/16/2016 at the Dover Downs Conference Center, provides health care providers and caregivers with an opportunity to network and to learn from national and regional dementia experts. Early registration is encouraged, at act.alz.org/2016DEconference or by calling 800.272.3900.
References:
The Swank Memory Care Center, the first and only outpatient program in Delaware dedicated to evaluating and consulting on patients with neurocognitive disorders, has recently moved to new quarters in the Gateway Building of the Wilmington Hospital. Appointments can be scheduled by calling 302-320-2620. Most referrals are from primary care or specialty health care providers, and patients can be seen by one or more members of an interdisciplinary team comprising a geriatrician, neurologist, geriatric psychiatrist, nurse practitioner, and social worker. Collaborative input is available from neuropsychology, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and rehabilitative medicine. The Swank Center hosts a monthly caregiver support group and will soon be recruiting appropriate subjects for clinical trials. The Swank Center also is an active provider of symposia and other educational opportunities for peers and public.
6. Porsteinsson AP, Drye LT, Pollock BG, et al. Effect of citalopram on agitation in Alzheimer disease. JAMA 2014;311(7):682-691.
A Brighter Horizon As a public health burden unlike any other, AD justifiably inspires our fear and concern. Recent progress in understanding AD’s early stages and prolonged presymptomatic development raise hope for the future. Successful advances in early detection, the development of new interventions to delay or prevent disease progression, and the investigation of new treatments may in time lighten the burden that this illness imposes on patients, caregivers, and our society as a whole. Continued progress will demand an investment of our resources, our support of treatment and research efforts, and a commitment to defeating a public health burden unlike any other.
1. http://www.dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/dsaapd/files/alzheimers_plan.pdf, accessed 10/02/2016 2. http://www.alz.org/facts/overview.asp?utm_source=gg&utm_medium=cpc&utm_ campaign=Mar-2016-FF&s_src=gg-mar-2016-ff&gclid=CJjr4s_3vM8CFcpahgodUN8D qQ, accessed 10/02/16 3. American Psychiatric Association 2013. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th edition). Arlington, VA, American Psychiatric Publishing. 4. Sperling RA, Aisen PS, Beckett LA et al. Toward defining the preclinical stages of Alzheimer’s disease: recommendations from the National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer’s Association workgroups on diagnostic guidelines for Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimers Dement. 2011 May; 7(3):280-92. 5. Maurer K, Volk S, Gerbaldo H. Auguste D and Alzheimer’s Disease. Lancet 1997;349:1546-9.
7. Panza F, Solfrizzi V, Seripa D, et al. Progresses in treating agitation: a major clinical challenge in Alzheimer’s disease. Expert Opin Phamacother 2015;16(17):2581-8. 8. Wang LY, Shofer JB, Rohde K, et al. Prazosin for the treatment of behavioral symptoms in patients with Alzheimer disease iwht agitation and aggression. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 2009;17(9):744-51. 9. Sutor B, Rasmussen KG. Electroconvulsive therapy for agitation in Alzheimer disease: a case series. J ECT 2008;24(3):239-41. 10. Lothstein LM, Fogg-Waberski J, Reynolds P. Risk management and treatment of sexual disinhibition in geriatric patients. Connecticut Medicine 1997;61:609–618. 11. Light SA, Holroyd S. The use of medroxyprogesterone acetate for the treatment of sexually inappropriate behaviour in patients with dementia. Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience 2006;31: 132–134. 12. Kales HC, Gitlin LN, Lyketsos CG, et al. Management of neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia in clinical settings: recommendations from a multidisciplinary expert panel. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2014 Apr;62(4):762-9. 13. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=alzheimer&Search=Search, accessed 10/02/2016 14. Godyń J, Jończyk J, Panek D, Malawska B. Therapeutic strategies for Alzheimer’s disease in clinical trials. Pharmacol Rep. 2016;68(1):127-38. 15. http://www.delawareadrc.com/ accessed 10/02/2016 16. www.alz.org/health-care-professionals/physicians-app.asp
James M. Ellison, M.D., M.P.H., is The Swank Foundation Endowed Chair in Memory Care and Geriatrics at Christiana Care Health System. He joined Christiana Care as chief psychiatrist and director of the Memory Disorders Clinic, director of the Geriatric Psychiatry Program and program director for the Partners HealthCare Fellowship in Geriatric Psychiatry. Dr. Ellison is considered an expert in psychopharmacology Katie Macklin, M.P.A., B.S., serves as the Senior Director Advocacy and Executive Director Delaware for the Delaware Valley Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. She has a BS in Biology and a Master of Public Administration with a specialization in Health Policy. She has worked at the Alzheimer’s Association for nearly a decade.
31
Why Trauma Matters to Delaware
D
elaware may be on the verge of a sea change in how we think about addressing our public health challenges through the lens of traumatic experience. Nationally, indeed internationally, there is increasingly widespread acknowledgment of the role unhealed trauma plays in physical and mental illness, substance use and addiction, disability and social problems. Simultaneously, trauma-informed approaches are being Leslie Brower, Ph.D., R.N. developed and refined to build resiliency, heal trauma, and restore lives upended by adversity and trauma. (Note: in this article I will use ‘trauma’ and ‘adversity’ synonymously.) This article is a partial story of Delaware’s journey toward becoming trauma-informed, from the perspective of the Project Director of a federal trauma grant awarded to the state’s adult behavioral health system.
In 2010 the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health (DSAMH) began implementation of a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) grant to implement trauma-informed care (TIC) in the state’s mental health and addiction service system. The grant design included training to increase the awareness of the prevalence and impact of trauma on service populations as well to promote implementation of trauma-specific practices shown to help people recover from trauma.
employed, insured and educated, where trauma might not be expected to be
The goals for the grant were developed based on prior work by survivors, advocates, and professionals in several states to develop and implement traumainformed approaches. For example, domestic violence advocates and child and youth advocates had long witnessed the tragic consequences of family and community violence and had developed programming as well as public education initiatives to influence public policy. The National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD) had supported a tenyear project to reduce or eliminate seclusion and restraint in state mental health hospitals nationally, given the growing data showing the traumatic and often tragic outcomes of such practices. SAMHSA has recently published guidelines for implementing trauma-informed practices across systems (SAMHSA, 2014.)
the Philadelphia results showed higher ACE scores; higher average physical and
common. In 2013 the Institute for Safe Families worked with Public Health Management Corporation (PMHC) to replicate the study, with significant additions. Recognizing the need to adjust for the different demographics of their city compared to the San Diego sample, Philadelphia added several new items to the original ACE questionnaire: neighborhood safety and trust, bullying, witnessing violence, racism and foster care. Compared to the original sample, emotional abuse; lower average sexual abuse; higher mental illness, substance use and incarceration; and higher negative health outcomes (Institute for Safe Families, 2013.)
State ACE Surveys With the support of the CDC, 32 states and the District of Columbia embedded the ACE items in their state’s BRFSS surveys for at least one year. The results of these surveys consistently mirror the general findings of the original ACE study, showing strong, graded relationships between high ACE scores and adverse outcomes. Many of these communities have gone on to
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study
develop local, regional and/or statewide initiatives to reduce the incidence of
These existing initiatives and many new ones were fueled by the findings of the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study launched by Kaiser Permanente in San Diego and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Vincent Felitti’s informal inquiry about why Kaiser Permanente’s successful weight loss patients dropped out of treatment grew into one of the most significant public health studies ever launched. The ongoing ACE study has demonstrated that adverse experiences are common, that adversity is strongly dose-response related, and that having one ACE predicts the presence of additional ACEs.
adversity, intervene early and/or develop targeted trauma recovery programs.
The range of correlated disorders documented in this study runs the gamut of illness, disability, and social problems: obesity, cardiovascular disease, cancer, depression, substance use and addiction, rape, teen pregnancy, abortion, and as much as 20 years’ premature mortality. The CDC’s ACE website lists more than 60 published articles documenting the correlation between a high ACE score and these adverse outcomes. A detailed description of this study is beyond the scope of this article, but voluminous information is available on the CDC website (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.) Significantly, the original ACE study sample was overwhelmingly Caucasian, 32 Delaware Journal of Public Health DECEMBER 2016
In late 2015 Delaware and the Delaware Public Health Institute (DPHI) launched the state’s first Household Health Survey that included most of the Philadelphia ACE Study items. The findings mirror those of the original ACE study. Further work is underway at this time to analyze and disseminate the data and to engage stakeholders in conversation about the implications for policy and practice.
Elements of Grant In early 2011 DSAMH expanded the SAMHSA grant’s focus, in acknowledging the fact that persons with mental illness and substance use disorders are often involved with and served by other systems: they encounter police and face arrest and incarceration; they experience homelessness; and both women and with these conditions often become victims of intimate partner violence (Trevillian, 2012.) To address these service system intersections DSAMH used grant funds to support several organizations that wanted to expand trauma-informed practices and/or initiate trauma-specific interventions.
• NAMI launched and continues to manage the 40-hour Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training for law enforcement that includes training on child and adult trauma and strategies for law enforcement to recognize and respond to the signs of trauma exposure. • The DE Coalition Against Domestic Violence developed and offers leadership in implementing “Initiating and Sustaining the Conversation about Intimate Partnership Violence,” a curriculum for behavioral health providers designed to engage victims in unsafe relationships in a dialogue about how to ensure their safety. • Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution piloted a brief version of the trauma- informed Sanctuary Model--S.E.L.F. Group (Safety, Emotions, Loss, Future) with selected groups of women to help them prevent re-offending. • Grant funds supported introductory training for over 100 providers in the Seeking Safety, a manualized approach to promoting trauma healing that may be offered by personnel other than licensed professionals, with the appropriate training and supervision (Najavits, 2002.) Training has been the primary grant mechanism to improve awareness and to promote adoption of specific interventions, with nearly 2,500 unique training contacts over four years. But DSAMH also recognized that training must extend beyond conference offerings, especially for licensed practitioners who not only provide services but who are often positioned to supervise staff, provide formal and informal training, measure performance and provide organizational leadership. To move in this direction, grant funds were used to provide on-site technical assistance in several behavioral health organizations. For two years the grant embedded a part-time trauma-knowledgeable psychologist and a licensed counselor in these organizations where they became a key source for informal training, case consultations and technical resources--providing research articles, consumer-focused materials and tools, and tips for improving service engagement and adherence. Peer support was the second major mechanism the grant used to promote trauma-informed practices in the behavioral health agencies. The grant hired more than a dozen people who had experienced trauma, as well as being diagnosed with mental illness, some of whom had also developed addictions and/or been involved in the criminal justice system as a result of their behavioral health conditions. Over the three years of this grant program, grant staff provided supervision, coaching and a wide range of training opportunities for the peer support specialists. These included such trauma-specific topics such
as emotional self-regulation strategies, identifying and managing one’s trauma triggers, implementing trauma-informed screening, and implementing Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) groups. The “Trauma Peers” also received training and coaching about improving functional role skills such as working as part of a therapeutic team, navigating organizational dynamics, helping clients identify supports to complement clinical objectives, and incorporating expressive techniques such as the arts. Significantly, these peer support specialists collected and submitted all of the data required by SAMHSA and DSAMH, overcoming barriers of stigma and organizational confusion about how to integrate this new type of personnel in the existing behavioral health provider structure.
Trauma Screening Data Between 2011 and 2015, the grant implemented trauma screening using a modified version of the Trauma Assessment for Adults (Resnick, 1993.) The data collected on this 12- item scale was based on a convenience sample, and thus cannot be generalized to the behavioral health population. However, the screening results were consistent with the general findings of other trauma screening tools: e.g. adversity is extremely common for people receiving behavioral health services. 24% of new clients endorsed at least one ACE, and 57% endorsed three or more; 10% endorsed 7-9 ACEs. Further, these data confirm the importance of including an assessment of a client’s trauma history and adopting trauma specific treatment to address these issues, whether they are root causes or complications of treatment. The Trauma Peers also reported several incidental but important observations. First, they noted that clients would often deny having experienced any form of trauma yet subsequently endorse one or more traumatic experiences listed on the TAA. In discussion they would reveal that their experiences of trauma were so chronic as to be normalized; that they would not self-disclose because of the fear, shame or sadness they felt; and/or that they had never before made the connection between their adverse experiences and their subsequent life problems. The importance of making these connections was highlighted in a recent research study that compared the outcomes of antidepressant medication for participants with and without a history of trauma: the medication was about one-third less effective in reducing symptoms for the group with a trauma history (Williams et al.) Second, Trauma Peers reported that they did not observe or hear about any client having any adverse reactions to the trauma screening or to subsequent discussion of trauma. In fact, the Trauma Peers as well as their agency supervisors noted that, despite staff concerns about discussing trauma, clients who completed surveys were typically interested in learning more about trauma. In fact, they often expressed gratitude that ‘someone finally asked’ about their trauma history.
Trauma Matters Delaware In 2014 grant staff initiated an informal meeting among sub-grantees to network and share information about their trauma-focused projects. Over the next two years this seven-person meeting mushroomed into an interest group that now numbers over 700 contacts with a Steering Group that has launched Trauma Matters Delaware (TMD). The mission of this emerging organization is simple: 33
“to support trauma-informed approaches in Delaware.” TMD has hosted multiple large training and networking events over the past three years on a wide range of trauma-related topics. These events have attracted participants from across the service spectrum, including personnel in the areas of health, behavioral health, early childhood, K-12 and higher education, corrections, domestic violence, and others. Here is a small sampling of the trauma-related activities currently underway in Delaware and represented in the TMD membership. Collectively these program efforts are part of the national wave of awareness and interest in the science and practices related to trauma: • The Delaware Children’s Department created a position for Director of Trauma Informed Care and established a Department-wide committee to promote trauma informed prevention, early intervention and treatment services across its four divisions. Key activities have included expanding trauma screening, consultation and assessment for children receiving Department services, building a trauma-knowledgeable workforce, implementing strategies to increase a sense of safety for children and families as well as staff and working collaboratively with community partners to build the capacity to identify children exposed to trauma, enhance child and family resilience and provide trauma specific treatment such as Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Treatment (TF-CBT) and Parent-Child Interactive Therapy (PCIT.) • The Department of Corrections is implementing several trauma-focused interventions and several specialty courts are working to identify opportunities to promote recovery and reduce the likelihood of repeat offending. • The Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health has contracted with this author to support ongoing activities such as Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training for law enforcement and Trauma Matters Delaware, and emerging issues such as Human Trafficking. • Six school districts are implementing the “Compassionate Schools” model developed in Washington State that is designed to shape school environments so as to identify and support the many children and youth who come to school burdened by family and community trauma. • The DE Coalition Against Domestic Violence has a long track record of advocacy and training related to the traumatic impact of intimate partner violence. The DCADV developed a curriculum entitled “Initiating and Sustaining the Conversation about Intimate Partner Violence” to reach behavioral health providers. Its emphasis is on empowering victims and supporting them to determine how best to ensure their own safety. • Several providers are implementing trauma-focused interventions, including Survivors of Abuse in Recovery (S.O.A.R.), the first and only agency in Delaware to specialize in trauma healing for victims of sexual abuse.
Implications for the Future The implications of the data about trauma prevalence and impact are enormous for public health practice as well as for services to individuals and families in medical, behavioral and social service settings. As policy and program leaders we should agree that it is not acceptable to ignore these important research findings, and work together to develop responsive policies and programs. Delaware’s challenge is to deepen and expand our commitment to understanding the role of trauma in our population and to implementing responsive interventions. This challenge can be met if Delaware takes a few key steps: • Build within-system and cross-system collaborations to adopt 34 Delaware Journal of Public Health DECEMBER 2016
organizational and systems-wide trauma-informed and trauma-focused practices. • Provide training and offer leadership to direct care staff to increase trauma awareness and build collective commitment to achieving a traumainformed service culture. • Implement trauma-informed methods of offering routine trauma screening and assessment (many instruments are readily available for various populations and purposes.) • Develop treatment and referral practices appropriate to each service population, setting and specialty (trauma-focused practices have been developed for virtually every service type and setting.) • Post information prominently to inform clients and staff that the organization is committed to trauma-informed practices (many posters and info-graphics are available for various settings.) • Collect trauma screening data and use it as part of Performance Improvement programs to improve client outcomes and potentially reduce long-term costs of care. • Establish standards of care relevant to all service systems that include the principles of trauma-informed care including preventing traumatic experiences when possible, identifying exposure early and intervening promptly. • Ensure the capacity to provide access to trauma-specific treatment for all individuals who might benefit and to prepare clinicians to provide effective services. References Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website: http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/acestudy/ Institute for Safe Families. Findings from the Philadelphia Urban ACE Survey. Public Health Management Corporation, 2013. Najavits, L. Seeking Safety: A treatment manual for PTSD and Substance Abuse, Guilford Press, New York, 2002. National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors. Creating violence-free and coercion-free mental health treatment environments: Video Training for the Reduction of Seclusion and Restraint, 2005. Resnick, H. Trauma Assessment for Adults, 1993. S.E.L.F.: A Trauma-Informed Psychoeducational Group Curriculum at http://www.sanctuaryweb.com/ Products/SELFGroupCurriculum.aspx Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. SAMHSA’s Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach, HHS Publication No. (SMA) 14-4884, Rockville, MD, July, 2014. Trevillion, K. et al. Experiences of domestic violence and mental disorders: a systematic review and metaanalysis. PLOS ONE, December, 2012. Williams, L.M., et al. Childhood trauma predicts antidepressant response in adults with major depression: data from the randomized international study to predict optimized treatment for depression. Translational Psychiatry, 2016.
In 2015 Delaware and the Delaware Public Health Institute (DPHI) launched the state’s first Household Health Survey that included most of the Philadelphia ACE Study items. The findings mirror those of the original ACE study: a strong and graded correlation between ACE exposure and negative life outcomes (smoking, obesity, cardiovascular disease, mental health issues, self-harm, witnessing violence, others.) Initial data were shared at a stakeholder presentation on December 7, 2016 that included a diverse panel of respondents who emphasized patient/client education about trauma exposure and healing; cross-system collaboration to better serve affected communities; and exploration of approaches such as aligned funding and use of an “anchor institution dashboard.” Further work is underway to analyze and disseminate the data and to engage stakeholders in conversation about policy and practice implications.
NATIONAL INFLUENZA VACCINATION WEEK Dec. 4 to Dec. 10 Remind your patients that it’s never too late to get vaccinated.
flu.Delaware.gov 800-282-8672
The ICD applauds the Division of Public Health in its efforts, but would like to remind Delawareans that
Every Week is Vaccination Week! To learn more, visit us at immunizedelaware.org
/immunizedelaware 35
A Guide to Involuntary Commitment in Delaware by Michelle Joy, M.D., Sundeep Virdi, J.D., M.D., Mustafa Mufti, M.D., Clarence Watson, J.D., M.D.
Theoretical and Historical Background U.S. citizens are entitled to a constitutionally protected right to privacy that permits an individual to dictate whether he or she will accept or refuse any recommended medical treatment. In that regard, a citizen with sound mind may rightfully refuse medical interventions despite any potential personal harm or unrealized therapeutic benefit the refusal would carry. Associated with that constitutional right of privacy is the legal presumption that every adult possesses a sound mind, or the mental competence, to independently engage in medical decision making. As with most legal rights, there are limitations and circumstances that would permit the curtailment of such privacy rights in order to provide treatment against a person’s will. U.S. state jurisdictions have the authority to involuntarily commit citizens with acute mentally illness to treatment facilities under two broad authorities, parens patriae and police power. Parens patriae refers to the power of the state to care for its citizens and to commit individuals who are incapable of caring for themselves to institutions. That state power stems from the governmental authority held by English kings to act as “general guardian to all infants, idiots, and lunatics” (Harvard Law Review, 1974, p. 1207 ) and was first applied to the mentally ill in U.S. through the 1845 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision, In re Oakes. In addition to helping care for those who unable to care for themselves, parens patriae is used by the State to protect the community from dangerous individuals. A state jurisdiction’s police power refers to the authority to take necessary steps to protect the general welfare of the public and to attend to society’s interests above the interests of a private citizen. The 1905 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Jacobson v. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, recognized states’ constitutional authority to exercise its police power by upholding a state law that required citizens to be vaccinated for smallpox. It is the police power that permits involuntary commitment of acutely mentally ill citizens to prevent dangerous behaviors towards themselves or others. 36 Delaware Journal of Public Health DECEMBER 2016
It is instructive to examine the development of case law in the area of civil commitment. In Lake v. Cameron, a 60 year old female was found wandering the streets of Washington, DC suffering from mild dementia and was being held awaiting a civil commitment hearing. There was concern from examining psychiatrists that she “is a danger to herself in that she has a tendency to wander among the streets…” The court found that an exploration of alternatives to involuntary hospitalization must be pursued, such as home care services or community mental health. This ruling places a limitation on the use of civil commitment to ensure that less restrictive alternatives are examined prior to deprivation of liberty that accompanies involuntary hospitalization. The case of Lessard v. Schmidt reinforced the need to examine less restrictive alternatives, while also requiring that individuals facing civil commitment proceedings be entitled to due process rights similar to those of criminal proceedings. These rights include effective and timely notice of the reason for detainment, limits on detention without probable cause and/or commitment hearings and right to counsel. In O’Connor v. Donaldson, the U.S. Supreme court examined whether “a finding of mental illness alone” justifies custodial confinement by the State. In that case, the Court held that “there is no constitutional basis for confining such persons involuntarily if they are dangerous to no one and can live safely in freedom.” This requirement of dangerousness is an important component of the Delaware civil commitment statute, as will be discussed in greater detail below. Another important component of civil commitment, the legal burden of proof, was established in Addington v. Texas. It was held that the burden of proof for civil commitment is one “that strikes a fair balance between the rights of the individual and the legitimate concerns of the state” and concluded that “clear and convincing” evidence was the appropriate burden of proof for civil commitment.
Commitment Process for the State of Delaware In the state of Delaware, a civil commitment procedure allows for the involuntary confinement of individuals with mental health problems at risk of dangerousness. In order for this to occur, the person must be evaluated and thought to be an acute risk to himself or others. Such procedure is intended to allow for treatment of underlying mental illness in order to reduce the likelihood of harm and protect vulnerable persons. This process can involve the individual, mental health professionals, concerned friends or family members, and portions of the legal system. However, such confinement is extremely serious, given the restriction of liberty and potential impact on an individual’s life. Steps are also in place for discontinuing confinement allowing for release back into the community or other treatment settings at any point along the trajectory. This paper serves a review of the process in the state of Delaware, adapted from the 16 Delaware Code § 5001 statute, in order to educate individuals who are not familiar with its intricacies. Any party with concern for an individual’s dangerousness can initiate the process by bringing the person (hereafter, “the patient”) to an emergency room or by contacting law enforcement. If law enforcement is concerned for underlying mental health problems, they can also bring the patient to an emergency room. At this point, a certified mental health screener will evaluate the patient for concerning symptoms or signs of an underlying mental illness that may lead to dangerous behavior by way of serious bodily harm. This mental health screener may be either a A) psychiatrist or a B) licensed mental health professional, unlicensed mental health professional under supervision of a psychiatrist, or another physician. If the screener falls under category B, she must be credentialed by the State of Delaware Department of Health and Social Services to assess and evaluate mental health problems in an emergency setting. The evaluation may be performed in a medical or dedicated psychiatric emergency room. If the individual is deemed to be in need of emergency mental health services and is unwilling or lacks capacity (that is, lacks the ability to coherently understands the risks and benefits) to sign himself into a hospital, an emergency detention is put in place by documenting the patient’s alleged mental health problems and dangerous behaviors. After this, the patient is transported to a designated psychiatric facility for further observation and potential treatment. This also means that an individual may not be involuntarily committed to a medical facility. Within twenty-four hours of this transfer, a psychiatrist must decide whether to involuntarily admit the patient to the hospital. In order to do so, the psychiatrist must certify that the person appears to have a “mental condition,” is unable or unwilling to accept offered voluntary treatment, poses a “present threat…of being dangerous to self or dangerous to others,” and cannot be treated through “less restrictive alternatives,” such as outpatient treatment. This certification allows for another forty-eight hours of detainment known as “provisional admission” to allow for additional assessment and treatment. It is important to note that at no point during this process does alcohol or drug intoxication, dementia, or intellectual disability constitute a mental condition that may be subject to involuntary detainment. The next steps in this process are known as the “probable cause” complaint and hearing. The hospital files a request for involuntary civil commitment with the courts. Another certification of mental condition, dangerousness, and appropriateness of treatment setting and its involuntary nature occurs. Within eight business days, a mental health
court hearing establishes whether there is probable cause for continued involuntary detention based on these grounds. During this and subsequent legal proceedings, the patient has the right to an attorney, to present and discover evidence, and to have direct and cross examination of witnesses. If probable cause is not found, the patient may be discharged back to the community on his own recognizance or ordered to outpatient treatment over objection. The court may order this level of outpatient supervision if the patient has a “documented mental condition,” is “reasonably expected to become dangerous to self or dangerous to others or otherwise unlikely to survive safely,” is refusing or unable to voluntarily participate in the recommended treatment plan, and has either a history of documented nonadherence to treatment recommendations or poses an extreme danger given recent actions. Thus the requirement for outpatient commitment essentially differs from inpatient detainment regarding imminence of dangerousness and the presence of nonadherence to treatment plans. If the patient was detained in the hospital rather than discharged at the “probable cause hearing,” only then may she be considered involuntarily committed for legal purposes. After this point would the patient be prohibited from possessing a firearm. The following step is an involuntary inpatient commitment (“IIC”) hearing held within eight business days. At this second hearing, the patient may be kept in the hospital if the conditions for the probable cause hearing continue to be met regarding mental health difficulties, dangerousness, and appropriateness of treatment setting and involuntariness. Importantly, the legal burden of proof is raised from the previous probable cause standard to now requiring the more substantial clear and convincing evidence of the need for involuntary commitment. The burden to prove this falls on the institution. For comparison, probable cause is the standard used to obtain a warrant for arrest or property search, while clear and convincing evidence is required of a person’s wish for removal of life support. If involuntarily committed, the patient is then kept at the hospital for continued treatment for a period no longer than three months without a follow-up hearing. Otherwise, he may be discharged with or without involuntary outpatient treatment. Of note, in neither setting does treatment does not imply medication, as a separate procedure must take place. As such, a patient who is involuntarily committed may refuse medications unless in emergency situations or if ordered by the courts. References 16 Delaware Code § 5001 located at http://delcode.delaware.gov/title16/c050/index.shtml Adddington v. Texas 441 U.S. 418, 10, 12 (1979). Harvard Law Review Association (1974). Developments in the law: Civil commitment of the mentally ill. Harvard Law Review, 87, 1190-1406. In re Oakes, 8 Law Rep. 122, 125 (Mass. 1845). Jacobson v. Commonwealth of Massachusetts 197 U.S. 11 (1905). Lake v. Cameron 364 F.2d 657, 3, 5 (1966). Lessard v. Schmidt 349 F. Supp. 1078, 26 (1972). O’Connor v. Donaldson 422 U.S. 563, 11 (1975).
Michelle Joy, M.D.
Sundeep Virdi, J.D., M.D.
Mustafa Mufti, M.D.
Clarence Watson, J.D., M.D. 37
Psychiatric Service Utilization Trends in Delaware’s Public Mental Health System Following the OLMSTEAD Settlement Agreement by Aileen Rothbard1,2,3, Cynthia Zubritsky1,3, Sumedha Chhatre 1, Bridget Keogh1, Hilary Cantiello1 & Susan Holloway4 Center for Mental Health Policy and Services Research, University of Pennsylvania1 School of Social Policy and Practice (SP2), University of Pennsylvania2 Leonard Davis Institute of Economics (LDI), University of Pennsylvania3 Delaware Department of Substance Abuse and Mental Health (DSAMH)4
T
he Olmstead Settlement Agreement between the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the State of Delaware (July 6, 2011) required Delaware to reduce its long term and acute psychiatric service utilization and expand community-based outpatient treatment and support programs for adults. The Olmstead Supreme Court decision targets many of the structural forms of discrimination that have been a barrier to community living for individuals with serious and persistent mental illness (SPMI). The 2011 Olmstead Settlement Agreement between the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the state of Delaware (DE) addressed a need for enhanced opportunities for individuals with SPMI and their families in the community. The state redesigned their mental health system, implementing a host of programmatic enhancements that are considered consumer-centered and community-focused.
Delaware asked the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Mental Health Policy and Services Research to evaluate the results of their Olmstead implementation strategies. This paper describes the service systems’ outcomes and is focused on the changes in the type and patterns of community care for the “at risk” population of seriously mentally ill individuals (SPMI), based on criteria jointly developed by DOJ and the Delaware Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health (DSAMH). A person level analysis was also completed using both quantitative and qualitative techniques to monitor clinical and social outcomes and service use for a small subset of the most vulnerable individuals discharged from the state hospital and enrolled in an intensive outpatient program known as the Community ReIntegration Support Program (CRISP). This utilization study reported here was approved by the University of Pennsylvania’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) and by Delaware’s Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) IRB.
Service System Redesign Prior to the Olmstead Settlement Agreement, public mental health services for the uninsured population of SPMI individuals in Delaware were provided by DSAMH and consisted of one state hospital, Delaware Psychiatric Center (DPC), Community Continuum of Care Programs (CCCP), which provided intensive outpatient services for ~ 1200 to 1500 individuals, 4 state operated community mental health centers (CMHCs) throughout the state, group homes contracted through state funds, and a host of other specialized programs. The Delaware Olmstead Settlement Agreement resulted in a plan to increase outpatient, crisis, housing and employment services and decrease psychiatric inpatient acute and long term care services. During the five year period, the following services were developed: 16 Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams of approximately 100 individuals each; the CRISP program, which provides intensive services and access to housing, employment, clinical services,
“Institutional placement of persons who can handle and benefit from community settings perpetuates unwarranted assumptions that persons so isolated are incapable or unworthy of participating in community life.” -Supreme Court Olmstead Decision 1999 38 Delaware Journal of Public Health DECEMBER 2016
Figure 1. Inpatient beds (LTC) at the DPC state hospital decreased dramatically
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medications and other services for approximately 100 former state hospital consumers; over 650 new housing units, ranging from supervised apartments to independent living; 3 Intensive Case Management (ICM) programs (less intensive than ACT); the Recovery Response Center (RRC), a walk-in crisis center serving consumers in the southern part of the state; and additional mobile crisis capacity was created. Additionally, a peer support program was formalized and expanded. Peer Specialists were trained and hired by State and community programs to provide peer recovery services.
private community psychiatric hospitals serving the public sector population. In 2012, newly formed ACT teams began enrolling “at risk” consumers. Other new programs became operational over the following 18 months. In order to determine if the changes were successful, an evaluation design was developed that followed inpatient and outpatient trends pre and post the 2012 program implementation phase. The expectation was that as new services were implemented, service use patterns for individuals with SPMI would change. The two major outcomes of interest were whether inpatient psychiatric use decreased and outpatient community services increased as a result of the system changes. These measures were examined annually over the study period (Rothbard et. al, 2016).
A further consequence of the Olmstead action was the forging of a partnership between the Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance (DMMA) and DSAMH. Prior to the development of this partnership, the two agencies provided psychiatric services separately to the Multiple sources of administrative data publically funded population in Delaware. Outpatient treatment, were used, including Medicaid and DSAMH The Olmstead Settlement provided the records collected routinely on service use. the cornerstone of the impetus for coordinating services to Medicaid Persons with SPMI were identified using consumers with SPMI using an amendment diagnostic and service data. Utilization was Olmstead Settlement to the 1915(c) Medicaid waiver; one of many linked with these individuals to construct options available to states to allow the Agreement, shows a steady annual patient histories of admissions, provision of long term care services in home discharges and visits. Each year a new group and community based settings under the increase with a doubling of of individuals were identified as SPMI based Medicaid program. This program allows for on criteria jointly determined by DSAMH and people using some type of case management (i.e. supports and service DOJ. Thus the population or denominator of coordination), homemaker, home health “at risk” individuals grew from 5,630 in 2010 to outpatient service. aide, personal care, adult day health services, 16,830 in 2015. habilitation (both day and residential), and Long Term Care Beds Decreased at DPC respite care. States can also propose “other” State Hospital. DPC beds were strikingly reduced from a 241-bed types of services that may assist in diverting and/or transitioning capacity in 2007 to a 109-bed capacity in 2015. Forty beds are used individuals from institutional settings into their homes and for forensic patients and cannot be closed. Currently, DPC operates community. Given the large number of individuals with SPMI who as an acute and intermediate facility primarily for individuals who are Medicaid beneficiaries, this partnership has enhanced services are uninsured or receiving forensic services. In 2015, approximately dramatically for this “at risk” group. DSAMH also began contracting 262 non-forensic individuals were in DPC versus 386 in 2010. with private, not-for-profit agencies to deliver outpatient mental Acute Psychiatric Inpatient Use in Community Hospitals health treatment, redesigning their state-funded CMHCs for Decreased. The number of people experiencing an inpatient psychiatric assessment, screening and referral purposes. episode in community or DPC acute ward units began dropping slowly beginning in 2012. The total number of hospitalized individuals Service System Evolution with SPMI declined from 2,187 in 2010 to 1,683 in 2015. This decrease occurred despite the increase over time in the “at risk” population New service models were implemented as a result of the (Figure 2). On a national level, discharges from acute care facilities for settlement agreement. The purpose of the system redesign was to: psychiatric disorders have been increasing since 1988 (Mechanic et al., 1) reduce the need for long term inpatient psychiatric care at DPC; 1998; Watanabe-Galloway & Zhang, 2007; Blader, 2011). and 2) decrease the use of acute care episodes at the three Delaware 39
Figure 2: Psychiatric Inpatient use in DE 2010-2015
Recidivism Rates Remained Stable. As DPC state hospital beds were reduced, the possibility existed that people may be readmitted to acute care community psychiatric hospitals more frequently. The recidivism or readmission rate to acute care beds, however, remained a constant (28%) in both 2010 and 2015, although it increased somewhat in the interim to 30% (Figure 3). Few individuals had more than two stays annually. A very small group of individuals had repeated stays over several years. Outpatient Treatment Rates Increased. The number of people using psychiatric outpatient services increased dramatically during the same time period (2010-2015). The increase was driven by greater use of outpatient services alone and in combination with other crisis services, reflecting better system connectivity. Most of the new outpatient programs developed by DSAMH were operational by 2013 (Figure 4). Olmstead’s central holding is that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits states from unnecessarily institutionalizing persons with disabilities and from failing to serve them in the most integrated setting.
Figure 3: Acute Psychiatric inpatient readmission rates 2010-2015
Figure 4: Psychiatric Outpatient use 2010-2015
Future Efforts to Integrate Individuals into the Community Using a Recovery Focus The results of the service system analysis show a pattern of success in reducing long term state hospital bed use through expanding and enhancing outpatient services and housing programs. Over 650 new housing units were created for the at risk population during this period (Bernstein, 2015). Acute hospital use has proved more difficult to decrease, although the number of individuals with an inpatient admission did begin to go down in 2012-13 and continued to decrease over the next two years. Challenges remain in that Delaware’s general hospital emergency departments (ED) experienced a threefold increase in psychiatric patient visits from 1,589 SPMI individuals in 2010 to 4,625 individuals in 2015. This despite the addition by DSAMH of free-standing and mobile crisis programs (Bernstein, 2015). This ED phenomenon has also occurred nationally, particularly for emergency visits in general hospitals (Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law). The National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, an annual survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reported that between 2002 and 2011, the annual number of visits to EDs by adults in the US rose by 30% (from 82.2 million to 106.8 million), but psychiatric visits increased even more dramatically, by about 55 percent (from 4.4 million to 6.8 million) (USDHHS, 2011).
Conclusions Deinstitutionalization has led to a reduction in state and county psychiatric inpatient facilities in the country that cut capacity from about 400,000 beds to fewer than 50,000 beds between 1970 and 2006 (Torrey et al., 2015). Acute care psychiatric beds have also been reduced since the 1990’s when behavioral health managed care was implemented (Watanabe-Galloway & Zhang, 2007; Rothbard et al. 2009; Blader, 2011). These bed declines are purported to be straining the resources of the ED where patients are staying for long periods before an appropriate discharge or transfer can be made (Zhu et al. 2016). 40 Delaware Journal of Public Health DECEMBER 2016
Some clinicians and advocates for persons with mental illness believe that there is a psychiatric bed crisis and are calling for an increase in bed capacity (Salinsky & Loftis, 2007; Torrey et al., 2015). Contrary to this view, proponents of deinstitutionalization, leaders of the recovery movement and the DOJ believe that most individuals with SPMI can be treated effectively in community settings given the appropriate ambulatory treatment, housing and social support network. The State of Delaware has made significant progress in meeting the bed reduction targets and the community based outpatient services established in the five-year DOJ agreement. However, reducing psychiatric hospitalization further will require additional services to divert hospital admissions from emergency rooms to outpatient and home and community-based care programs. Additionally, there is a need to improve hospital discharge planning to ensure fewer non-essential readmissions and to enhance the community outpatient care system and housing programs that support recovery and positive change. Promoting positive change in the lives of individuals with serious and persistent mental illness (SPMI) Bibliography Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law. Increased emergency room use by people with mental illnesses contributes to crowding and delays. Washington, D.C.: Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law. Bernstein, R. (2015). Eighth report of the court monitor on progress toward compliance with the agreement: U.S. V. state of Delaware. (No. 8).U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. Blader J.C. (2011). Acute Inpatient Care for Psychiatric Disorders in the United States, 1996 Through 2007 Arch Gen Psychiatry;68(12):1276-1283 doi:10.1001/ archgenpsychiatry. 2011.84. Mechanic, D., McAlpine, D.D., Olfson, M. (1998). Changing patterns of psychiatric inpatient care in the United States, 1988-1994. Archives of General Psychiatry, 55(9): 785-791. Rothbard A.B., Hadley, T.H., Noll E., Lee S. (2009). A final report submitted to Pa Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. Psychiatric Inpatient Capacity in Pennsylvania. Rothbard, A., Zubritsky, C., Chhatre, S., Keogh, B., & Cantiello, H. (2016). University of Pennsylvania research brief for DSAMH. (Research Brief No. 3). University of Pennsylvania: Center for Mental Health Policy and Services Research. Salinsky E., Loftis C. 2007. Shrinking Inpatient Psychiatric Capacity: Cause for Celebration or Concern? National Health Policy Forum Issue Brief. (No. 823, pp. 1-21). http://www.nhpf. org/ library/issue-briefs/IB823_InpatientPsych_08-01-07.pdf. Torrey, E.F., Entsminger, K., Geller, J., Stanley, J., & Jaffe, D. J. (2015). The shortage of public hospital beds for mentally ill persons. Montana, 303(20.9), 6-9. United States Department of Health and Human Services. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, 2011. ICPSR29922-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2011-01-18. http://doi.org/10.3886/ ICPSR29922.v1 Watanabe-Galloway, S., Zhang, W. (2007). Analysis of U.S. trends in discharges from general hospitals for episodes of serious mental illness, 1995-2002. Psychiatric Services; 58(4): 496-502. Zhu, J.M., Singhal, A., & Hsia, R.Y. (2016). Emergency Department Length-Of-Stay For
Dr. Zubritsky is the Director of Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Mental Health Policy and Services Research in the Department of Psychiatry. She has extensive experience in clinical and organizational issues in national behavioral healthcare systems, including integrated systems design, outcome measurement, quality assurance measurement, systems evaluation, the design and implementation of services for integrated care in behavioral and physical health systems, and the evaluation of the impact of the Olmstead Decision on individuals with serious mental illness. Dr. Chhatre is a health services researcher in the Department of Psychiatry. She has been involved in various health services research projects ranging from mental health, cancer, aging and HIV. She is the principal investigator and collaborating investigator on several federally funded grants and have published more than 25 peer reviewed articles. Bridget Keogh, M.P.H. is a Research Coordinator in the Department of Psychiatry’s Center for Mental Health Policy and Services Research at the University of Pennsylvania. Bridget is a Philadelphia area native and studied Biobehavioral Health at Pennsylvania State University. Hilary Cantiello is a Research Coordinator for the Center for Mental Health Policy and Services Research and is a part of Dr. Cynthia Zubritsky’s team. Before joining the Center, she worked in Prevention and Intervention for a co-occurring program for women and their children in West Philadelphia. She holds a Master’s of Liberal Arts from the University of Pennsylvania. Susan Holloway is the Deputy Division Director for the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health at the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services. She is responsible for Administering, planning, implementing and monitoring Delaware’s State-wide Substance Abuse, Gambling and Mental Health prevention and treatment systems. Susan received her MPA in Healthcare Administration from the University of Delaware and is currently completing her MS in Human Resources Development at Villanova University. Aileen Rothbard, Sc.D., is a Research Professor in the School of Social Policy and Practice and in the Department of Psychiatry in the School of Medicine and a Senior Fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Rothbard’s research examines the impact of policy changes, program implementation and technological innovations on system utilization, cost efficiency and outcome effectiveness. Her expertise is in processing large data bases, innovative approaches to integrating patient files across data sources and analyzing and modeling utilization and cost issues employing innovative techniques such as data envelopment analysis (DEA), queuing and simulation models.
Psychiatric Visits Was Significantly Longer Than For Nonpsychiatric Visits, 2002–11. Health Affairs, 35(9), 1698-1706.
41
Cigarettes & psychotropic medications: A study of the prescription pattern in an inpatient setting Sehba-Husain-Krautter M.D., Ph.D.1*, Connie Chang M.D.1*, Thomas A. O’Hara M.S.2, Joseph Esposito M.D.1, Vallabh Suryadevara M.D.1, Dolly Mishra D.O.1, Kiran Luther M.D.1, Gerard Gallucci M.D., M.H.S.3 1Delaware Psychiatric Center, 1901 North Dupont Highway, New Castle, DE 19720 2Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, 4170 City Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19131 3Office of the Secretary. Delaware Health and social Services, 1901 North Dupont Highway, New Castle, DE 19720
*First co-authors
C
igarette smoking is one of the most prevalent and preventable causes of illness and death worldwide. The CDC analyzed data from the 2014 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to assess state-specific prevalence of cigarette use among the U.S. adult population showing that current cigarette smoking ranged from 9.7% (Utah) to 26.7% (West Virginia) with higher rates among males than females in all 50 states1.
42 Delaware Journal of Public Health DECEMBER 2016
Out of the 444-inpatient admissions over the last year, we randomly selected 94 subjects and collected de-identified data from their charts. 53 of the selected population were non-smokers and 41 were smokers (Table 1). We then selected the most common medications that we prescribe in our inpatient facility whose metabolism is affected by cigarette smoking and compared the prescription rate of these medications in smokers versus nonsmokers. The medications we focused on were Clozapine, Olanzapine, Haloperidol, Amitriptyline, and Clomipramine.
An increased rate of cigarette smoking has been observed in patients with psychiatric illness compared to the general population2, 3. Smoking rates among individuals with a mental illness or another addiction are two to three times higher compared to the rest of the population and tobacco-related illness is one of the highest-ranking causes of death in this population4. In a study comparing mortality rates across several states, it was shown that patients with major mental illness were more likely to die younger compared to the general population with smoking being one of the main contributing factors5. Smoking cessation in patients with psychiatric illness may have the greatest benefit in terms of morbidity and mortality in this population. Of the many suggested reasons for the high incidence of smoking among patients with mental illness include, anxiolytic effect, managing medication–related adverse effects, genetic vulnerability, and increased opportunities for socialization2.
Age (mean)
35
38
Male, n (%)
12.19
9.43
Female, n (%)
87.81
90.57
Average length of hospitalization
15.9
27.8
Results Fewer percentage of cigarette smokers were prescribed psychotropic medications whose metabolism is affected by smoking Of the population that smoked cigarettes, only 14.63% were prescribed one or more medications that could be affected by smoking whereas among the control group 33.96% were prescribed medications that could be affected by smoking (Figure 1). This trend remained the same for all the psychotropic medications except Amitriptyline in our selected population. Figure 1. Fewer percentages of cigarette smokers were prescribed psychotropic medications. Percentage of smokers and control groups using different psychotropic medications were calculated from total number of subjects and data is depicted as bar graphs.
Figure 1
30
Control Smokers
20
10
in e ra m
lin e
ip om Cl
Am
itr ip
ty
rid ol pe H alo
pi ne O lan za
ap in
e
0
oz
We were interested in assessing how many of our inpatient population at Delaware Psychiatric Center smoke cigarettes and what percentage of those smokers were prescribed psychotropic medications that could be affected by their smoking habit. As we were aware of the metabolism inducing effects of cigarettes we wanted to determine if changes to medications were made depending on the patients’ smoking status. We were also interested in determining if there was a relationship between smoking and the length of hospitalization, the hypothesis being that smokers would stay for shorter periods in the hospital because they want to resume smoking (Table 1). Finally another significant piece of information we were interested in gathering was the diagnosis, in order to determine if the differences for prescribing certain psychotropics was possibly due to differences in diagnosis.
Nonsmokers (n=53)
Table 1. Data derived from the patient charts plotted as a table to show distribution of age, gender, and average length of hospitalization.
Cl
Aim and Method
% of population
Cigarette smoke contains thousands of discrete chemical compounds with at least 43 identified as being carcinogenic. Aside from the hazardous long-term health effects, cigarette smoke contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that can cause induction of hepatic cytochrome P450 (CYP) isozymes, therefore increasing metabolic clearance of drugs that are substrates for these enzymes2. The induction of CYP isozymes can alter the expected serum levels of several psychotropic medications metabolized specifically by CYP1A1, CYP1A2, and CYP2E1. This relationship between smoking and metabolism of psychotropic medications exposes patients with mental illness to increased smoking-related morbidity and mortality. Therefore part of managing patients with psychiatric illness who smoke requires dose adjustmen ts of medications affected by smoking and also readjustment of those medications after smoking cessation6. The psychotropic drug classes mainly affected include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants, typical and atypical antipsychotics. Additionally since 1993, the US Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization (JCAHO) has mandated smoke-free hospitals in the US7. Though this regulation has changed the management of the inpatient population across all specialties, most patients who temporarily stop smoking in the hospital usually resume smoking soon after being discharged. The long-term smoking cessation rate after hospitalization is estimated to be 15% in patients with mental illness compared with 30% in the general population8.
Smokers (n=41)
Psychotropic Medications 43
Larger percentage of cigarette smokers were using illicit substances when compared to control population 63.41% of the patients who smoked cigarettes used other substances as compared to 22.64% in the control population (Figure 2). The main diagnosis in the control group was schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders at 32.1% with substance use disorders, bipolar disorders, depressive disorders, and others at 22.64%, 18.86%, 24.52%, and 1.88% respectively.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Larger percentage of cigarette smokers used other substances when compared to control population where greater percentage of the population was diagnosed with schizophrenia or other psychotic disorder. Depressive disorder was the 2nd most common diagnosis in the group that smoked as well as in the control group. Final diagnosis was calculated as a percentage of number of subjects in each group and data is depicted here as pie charts. The selected population predominantly consisted of females in groups, smokers as well as non-smokers Of the selected population, 87.81% of the patients were females in the group with a total number of 41 subjects who smoked, and 90.57% were females in the control group consisting of a total of 53 subjects who did not smoke (Figure 3). There was a very small increase in the male population in the group that smoked compared to controls at 12.19% versus 9.43 % respectively. Figure 3. Randomly selected population used for this study predominantly consisted of females. Percentage of female versus male was calculated from total subjects in both smokers as well as control group and data is represented as bar graphs.
Figure 3
% of population
100 80 60
Control Smokers
40 20 0 Males
Females
44 Delaware Journal of Public Health DECEMBER 2016
Discussion This is the very first study of it’s kind exploring the choices psychiatrists make while prescribing psychotropic medications based on the patient’s lifestyle choices, which could therefore modify the efficacy of the prescribed drug. Thus far our preliminary data suggests that among the selected population, patients that used cigarettes were less likely to be prescribed medications that were affected by smoking. Whether this was a conscious decision on part of the prescribing psychiatrist or if this decision was made based on the diagnosis as most of the population that smoked carried a diagnosis of substance use disorder is a question that needs to be further pursued. A definitive conclusion cannot be drawn from our small sample size and we need to expand this study to include all patients admitted to the inpatient facility at the Delaware Psychiatric Center over a specific period of time to be able to provide answers to these queries. Our data further indicates that people who smoke cigarettes have a higher propensity to be using other substances. Thus far, epidemiological data suggests that nicotine is a gateway to using other illicit substances and recent studies have supported this hypothesis. Additionally, it has been shown that adolescents who smoke cigarettes are highly sensitive to the rewarding effects of alcohol, cocaine and methamphetamine9. Nicotine tends to increase the extracellular dopamine levels enhancing the rewarding effects of stimulants, alleviates withdrawal from opioids, THC and alcohol, cognitive deficits from TCH and stimulates and enhances tolerances from opioids10. It has also been shown that the interactions with nicotine are also dependent on what age the patient was exposed to nicotine as an adolescent9. Further research taking into account the age of onset of nicotine use and its relationship with use of illicit substances could provide answers to these fundamental questions and also guide intervention strategies at an appropriate age. Once again due to our limited sample size we were not able to make any meaningful interpretation on the relationship between a specific illicit substance and cigarette smoking, however this is another area of interest we intend to pursue in the future. Interestingly, our preliminary data also suggests that the selected population was predominantly female patients with mental illness. It is unclear if this was a selection bias or if there is a higher turnover in the female inpatient population, however this skew was seen in both smokers as well as nonsmokers. However, we do see a shorter length of hospitalization in the smokers versus non-smokers at 15.9 days versus 27.8 days respectively (Table 1). It would be further interesting to analyze how many of the smokers left against medical advice so that they could resume smoking. Though these results indicate that we are heading in the right direction by prescribing relatively less medications whose metabolism is affected by smoking in the group that smokes, further studies to investigate whether this population is being advised on the negative aspects of smoking and whether they are given the tools to quit smoking are also necessary. Additionally, as a follow-up it is important to know if the patient stops smoking so that psychotropic medications can be adjusted accordingly to prevent possible side-effects. Another important issue to investigate is if by withholding important psychotropic medications the population that smokes is more prone to relapse and further hospitalization.
In conclusion, when prescribing psychotropic medications providers should be careful to take the patient’s smoking history into consideration and address tobacco use disorder in individuals with mental illness. The same concerns should be addressed when assessing clinical response or the need for dose adjustments in smokers. It also gives rise to the question that should medications that are affected by smoking be substituted by alternatives or is dose adjustment a better way to proceed so as to not to deprive these patients of highly affective medications. Importantly, we have to also keep in mind that in spite of the significant decrease in tobacco use in the general population that has occurred in the last 40 years, this trend has not been seen in patients with psychiatric illness11. While we are exploring the right psychotropic intervention, integrating education on tobacco dependence as well as introducing treatment modalities that are currently available to help quit smoking is extremely necessary. Also while prescribing to patients with mental illness, all medications should be reviewed with regards to any modifications required to suit the patient’s lifestyle. Keeping these factors in mind while working with this patient population can facilitate medication compliance and help prevent further hospitalizations. References 1 Nguyen KH, Marshall L, Brown S, Neff L. State-Specific Prevalence of Current Cigarette Smoking and Smokeless Tobacco Use Among Adults - United States, 2014. MMWR Morbidity and mortality weekly report, 2016;65:1045-51. 2 Desai HD, Seabolt J, Jann MW. Smoking in patients receiving psychotropic medications: a pharmacokinetic perspective. CNS drugs, 2001;15:469-94. 3 Williams JM, Stroup TS, Brunette MF, Raney LE. Tobacco use and mental illness: a wakeup call for psychiatrists. Psychiatric services, 2014;65:1406-8. 4 Lawrence D, Mitrou F, Zubrick SR. Smoking and mental illness: results from population surveys in Australia and the United States. BMC public health, 2009;9:285. 5 Colton CW, Manderscheid RW. Congruencies in increased mortality rates, years of potential life lost, and causes of death among public mental health clients in eight states. Preventing chronic disease, 2006;3:A42. 6 Aubin HJ, Rollema H, Svensson TH, Winterer G. Smoking, quitting, and psychiatric disease: a review. Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews, 2012;36:271-84. 7 Longo DR, Feldman MM, Kruse RL, Brownson RC, Petroski GF, Hewett JE. Implementing smoking bans in American hospitals: results of a national survey. Tobacco control, 1998;7:47-55. 8 Hughes JR, Frances RJ. How to help psychiatric patients stop smoking. Psychiatric services, 1995;46:435-6. 9 Cross SJ, Lotfipour S, Leslie FM. Mechanisms and genetic factors underlying co-use of nicotine and alcohol or other drugs of abuse. The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse, 2016:1-15. 10 Kohut SJ. Interactions between nicotine and drugs of abuse: A review of preclinical findings. The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse, 2016:1-16. 11 Ziedonis D, Williams JM, Smelson D. Serious mental illness and tobacco addiction: a model program to address this common but neglected issue. The American journal of the medical sciences, 2003;326:223-30.
Dr. Suryadevara is currently a first year Psychiatry Resident at Delaware Psychiatric Center. His current research interests are in Schizophrenia and Psychopharmacology. His has previously contributed to a publication titled “Occupation and risk of sudden death in a United States community: a case-control analysis”. Connie Chang is a 2nd year psychiatry resident at Delaware Psychiatric Center. She has a passion for working with children and adolescents. She is an aspiring child psychiatrist and has plans to work in underserved areas in the United States. Joseph Esposito is a native New Yorker who attended Binghamton University to obtain his bachelors in biology. He obtained his master’s degree in natural sciences at the Rowell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY. Dr. Esposito then went on to earn his medical degree at Ross University. He is currently a 2nd year Psychiatry resident at the Delaware Psychiatric Center and has a strong interest in addiction medicine. Dr. Dolly Mishra completed her residency at UMDNJ after graduating from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. She is currently a clinical instructor at PCOM and the medical student coordinator at the Delaware Psychiatric Center along with being the attending psychiatrist at one of the acute-care inpatient units at the Delaware Psychiatric Center. Dr. Kiran Luther is the Chief Medical Physician at Delaware Psychiatric Center. She works closely with the residents while managing all the medical comorbidities in her patients. She is board certified in family medicine and trained at the Kalamazoo campus of Michigan State University. Prior to working at DPC she provided medical care to psychiatric patients at Rockford Medical Center and enjoys the challenges of working with patients with mental illness. Gerard Gallucci, M.D., M.H.S. is the Medical Director in the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services. He holds degrees from Columbia College (NY), George Washington University (DC) and Johns Hopkins (Baltimore). He completed his residency in Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins followed by a NIHsponsored fellowship in Psychiatric Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. He currently holds faculty positions at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Thomas Jefferson Medical College, and Drexel University College of Medicine.
45
Voices of the Delaware Community Reintegration Support Program (CRISP) Cynthia Zubritsky1,3, Sumedha Chattre1, Bridget Keogh1, Hilary Cantiello1 and Michael Barbieri4 Aileen Rothbard1,2,3 Center for Mental Health Policy and Services Research, University of Pennsylvania1 School of Social Policy and Practice (SP2), University of Pennsylvania2 Leonard Davis Institute of Economics (LDI), University of Pennsylvania3 Delaware Department of Substance Abuse and Mental Health (DSAMH)4
I
n 2011, an Olmstead agreement between the Department of Justice and the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health (DSAMH) required DSAMH to ensure that all persons receiving mental health services were receiving them in the least restrictive environment. This settlement agreement was made in response to an Olmstead Decision, in which the United States Supreme Court held that it is discrimination to deny people with disabilities services in the most integrated setting appropriate. The Court found that individuals with disabilities are entitled to live in the community and to receive treatment there, rather than in institutions. The stories of countless consumers who have moved from state hospitals to communities demonstrate the success of providing mental health treatment in the community and underscore the false limitations of individuals’ previous lives created by living in institutions (DiPolito, S., 2006). The Olmstead settlement agreement became a blueprint for how Delaware serves individuals with serious and persistent mental illness (SPMI). A key feature of this blueprint was the development of programs to ensure that people with SPMI are not forced to enter institutions because of insufficient housing or lack of intensive treatment options in the community, but rather are provided with these options in the community. An evaluation of the DOJ settlement agreement examining both consumer and mental health service system outcomes between 2010 and 2016 provides a clear picture of the new and effective mental health program changes and developments in Delaware. Many of these changes were in the addition of new community mental health services, including the development of additional crisis services, housing options, and assessment and treatment options. This article focuses on a communitybased program, CRISP, designed to transition individuals with SPMI who had been living in DPC to the community.
CRISP Program Description. The Community Re-Integration Support Program (CRISP) is a specialized mental health program designed to provide 46 Delaware Journal of Public Health DECEMBER 2016
innovative mental health services in an integrated, community setting. Persons who were eligible for the CRISP program included: 1) persons residing in DPC for a minimum of two years; 2) persons residing in DPC for whom there had been no appropriate community placement; and 3) persons with SPMI who are in the community and at risk for hospitalization and/or experiencing homelessness. Individuals living in DPC were identified by DPC staff for eligibility for the CRISP program, interviewed about their choice to live in the community, and provided with wraparound community services during their transition to the community. The evaluation of the CRISP program employs a mixed-methods approach that includes surveys, psychometrics, and focus groups with CRISP consumers and staff. The primary aim of the evaluation is to investigate what changes occur for individuals with SPMI in key outcome domains of 1) quality of life; 2) symptom severity; 3) satisfaction with services; 3) level of functioning; and 4) attitudes towards community living. These outcomes are collected at the time of discharge from the state hospital (baseline) and annually thereafter. While there is one year remaining in the evaluation data collection phase, results to date indicate high community tenure, high satisfaction with services, and increased quality of life for CRISP participants. Interviews In October, 2016, three CRISP consumers volunteered to be interviewed for this article. A member of the University of Pennsylvania evaluation team and a CRISP Peer Support Specialist spoke with the consumers, who were asked about their experience leaving DPC and receiving services in the community from the CRISP program. Common themes for the individuals arose in the discussion that included: increased personal autonomy, highly individualized medication management, increased job and volunteer opportunities in the community, and a high level of satisfaction with housing. Each individual contributed his or her own perspective and experience related to these themes.
CRISP VOICES: Meet Anne, Joe, and Chris! These three Delaware citizens have moved out of the Delaware Psychiatric Center (DPC) and have been living successfully in the community building relationships, establishing themselves in positions of trust and authority, and contributing back to the community and their families as a result of the CRISP program. Anne has been in the CRISP program for about three years. Prior to the CRISP program, Anne used inpatient services at MeadowWood Behavioral Health, Rockford Center and the Delaware Psychiatric Center (DPC) for about five years. She was in DPC twice. She doesn’t remember how long she was in DPC the first time because she was so depressed. Her second DPC stay lasted about 8 months. Anne’s description of herself before and after her entry into the CRISP program describes a clear and purposeful recovery journey. Anne was diagnosed with catatonia while she was at DPC, (a state of physical immobility and behavioral abnormality), when she was alert, she had constant feelings of depression and thoughts of hurting herself. Now, Anne feels like she belongs in the community; she has great friends and has reestablished a relationship with her family. She credits CRISP with providing her the support she needs to reach her goals, the most important of which is moving closer to her children who live out-of-state. Anne says that she has gained autonomy during her time in the CRISP program, living independently in an apartment. She has used the apartment complex’s fitness center to her achieve her goal of attaining a healthy weight; after eight months of dedicated preparation, including smoking cessation, Anne is undergoing bariatric surgery later this year. Anne described how she used to need daily medication deliveries because she “could not be trusted” with medications because of her depression and suicidal ideation. Now, Anne manages her own medication and picks them up herself at a local pharmacy. The most meaningful outcome from her participation in the CRISP program is the opportunity to live near her children. She has initiated the process to move closer to her children, including applying for low-income housing and finding a behavioral health provider in the area to continue her treatment. Anne is now optimistic about her future and says that she has a sense of hope that she never had before. Joe has been in the CRISP program for about three years. Joe and Anne both talked about the positive changes that they saw in one another since joining the CRISP program. Joe was in DPC twice, the first time for about two years and the second time for less than a year. He has made incredible strides in his recovery from both mental illness and substance use since he began receiving CRISP services. Joe explained that before the CRISP program, he used drugs and alcohol regularly, which exacerbated his mental illness. He kept to himself and was very isolated. The CRISP program found Joe a house upon his discharge from DPC and connected him with Recovery Groups in the community. Now, Joe works at the CRISP program, which has increased both his autonomy and self-esteem. He said that CRISP has helped him manage his medications, finding an individualized dose that works best for him. Joe can often be found hanging out at the CRISP program office; he likes being at the CRISP office and feels a sense of belonging, stating that “a lot of these people are like my family.” Connections CSP, the CRISP provider agency, places their trust in Joe and has given him a key to unlock the building on Monday evenings for a Recovery Group; something that Joe takes great pride in. One of Joe’s goals is to go to school to pursue nursing as either a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)
or a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). When asked why he wanted to pursue nursing, Joe replied, “because I care a lot about people and I like to be up on my feet.” Joe would like readers to know that the CRISP program is a place of a lot of caring people and that the CRISP program can help you if you really want to succeed. He ended by saying, “now, I am a valuable part of society.” Chris joined the CRISP program four years ago. He was a resident of the state hospital for over a year as a result of homelessness. He shared that he lost many of his friends during his time in DPC; he began to feel isolated and started hearing voices. Since moving to the community as part of the CRISP program, this isolation and loneliness has abated through the development of new relationships and reconnections with family members. Chris has reestablished a relationship with his mother, because of CRISP arrangements for regular visit with his mother who lives out-of-state have been established. Their relationship has also improved because of his new found independence; he no longer leans on his mother financially for everything. Chris’s friendships have also strengthened and grown; he shared, “since joining the CRISP program I have friends who I can count on for support.” Chris had trouble trusting people in the past, but this has changed as a result of his experience in CRISP. He spoke highly of CRISP staff, reporting that CRISP staff are happy and optimistic and that their positive demeanor indicate that they truly loved their jobs. Chris said that when staff has technology questions they turn to him for help. He said, “no one has ever turned to me for help before, it made me feel that I can help people.” Chris discussed how being fiscally autonomous through the CRISP program has impacted his life. He said that anger management has been his biggest personal change since joining CRISP and that he continues to work on this goal with the support of CRISP staff. Chris has exciting plans for his future which include finishing his GED and pursuing a dual degree in nursing and computer game design. The CRISP evaluation incorporates consumer voice by way of consumer interviews, such as the ones shared here, and focus groups. These consumer stories demonstrate the success of the CRISP program in a way that reports and charts cannot. These three individuals have been provided with the support and treatment that they need to believe in themselves, their ability to recover, their ability to be valuable members of their families and communities, and their futures. Mental health treatment has evolved beyond the closed doors of the state hospitals; Delaware is providing leadership in the future direction of mental health services. Acknowledgements: Connections CRISP staff: Wendy Frederick, CPS; Marckus Bell, Chris Holmes, Anne Riccio-Sauers and Joe Ulrich Reference DiPolito, Samantha. (2006). Olmstead v. L.C. – Deinstitutionalization and community integration: An awakening of the Nation’s conscience. Eleventh Circuit Survey: Comment. Retrieved from http://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/mercer58&div=68&g_ sent=1&collection=journals#
Dr. Zubritsky is the Director of Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Mental Health Policy and Services Research in the Department of Psychiatry. She has extensive experience in clinical and organizational issues in national behavioral healthcare systems, including integrated systems design, outcome measurement, quality assurance measurement, systems evaluation, the design and implementation of services for integrated care in behavioral and physical health systems, and the evaluation of the impact of the Olmstead Decision on individuals with serious mental illness. 47
Understanding and approaching the increase in suicide rate with a special focus on the state of Delaware Connie Chang M.D.1*, Sehba-Husain-Krautter M.D., Ph.D.1*, Angela Golden R.N.2, Lee Berman M.D.1, Joseph Esposito M.D.1, Sanju George M.D.1, Emily Coggin Vera L.C.S.W.3, Jennifer Seo3, Jennifer Smolowitz3, Harvey Doppelt Ph.D.4, Gerard Gallucci M.D., M.H.S.2 1 Delaware Psychiatric Center, 1901 North Dupont Highway, New Castle, DE 19720 2 Office of the Secretary. Delaware Health and social Services, 1901 North Dupont Highway, New Castle, DE 19720 3 Mental Health Association in Delaware 100 West 10th Street, Suite 600, Wilmington, DE 19801 4 Division of Prevention & Behavioral Health Services, Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth, and Their Families, 1825 Faulkland Road, Wilmington, DE 19805
*First co-authors
S
uicide is the tenth leading cause of death in Delaware and the United States1. The annual age adjusted suicide rate is 13 per 100,000 individuals in the American population and it has steadily increased from the year 1999 to 2014 despite efforts to implement an effective prevention strategy2, 3 . In the state of Delaware, currently suicide is the second, third, and fourth leading cause of death in the age groups 25-34, 15-24, and 35-54, respectively (Figure 1). Contrary to the popular notion that suicidal threats are harmless bids for attention, suicidal thoughts and actions are a sign of extreme distress and should not be ignored. Primary care physicians are important in treatment as they perform as gatekeepers and are crucial in the process of identifying at-risk patients [Sentinel Event Alert]. With proper assessment and treatment, patients with suicidal ideations can have a positive outcome. On average, in the United States 77% of the people who commit suicide had seen a primary care physician prior to their death and about 45% were in contact with their primary care physician within a month of their death4. Educating primary care physicians in recognizing suicidal thoughts and depression can be an effective intervention in preventing suicide5. Delaware has taken its own steps to implementing legislation for suicide prevention education11.
Signs of suicide
Figure 1. Number of suicides from year 2007 through 2014 plotted as a graph show the increasing suicide rates, especially in age groups 25-34, 15-24, and 35-54.
48 Delaware Journal of Public Health DECEMBER 2016
Signs of suicide can present differently amongst patients but there are several common signs that physicians can identify when screening. Apparent signs include a patient clearly communicating that he or she wishes to harm self or strongly expressing the desire to no longer live. Suicidal patients may be seeking assistance and often times bring up the topic of death during a conversation. Other signs that patients may be planning to kill themselves include seeking access to firearms, access to medications or other means of self-harm. They may or may not discuss this openly and sometimes the only way to get a patient to talk about this is to ask directly. The patient may talk or write about death, dying, or suicide when these actions are out of the ordinary for the person1. Some patients display signs of depression such as hopelessness or feeling trapped. Impulsive rage, revenge-seeking, and reckless/risky behavior are also important cues. There may increase alcohol or drug use, a sign that things are spiraling out of control. Other noticeable symptoms include
withdrawing from friends and family, feeling anxious, agitated or inability to sleep, and experiencing dramatic mood changes. Table 1 reviews the signs of suicide which can be easily be remembered using the acronym FACTS (feelings, action, changes, threats, and suicides). As mentioned earlier, suicide is the third leading cause of death in the age group of 15-24. It is important to know that teenagers may show signs of depression differently from adults. In addition to the signs and symptoms mentioned above, depressed adolescents may act out, get in trouble at school, and engage in negative thinking. It is normal that adolescents may experience stressors such as struggling to fit in at school, keep up with their classes, and trying to meet their family’s expectations.
Table 1: Warning Signs of Suicide in Adults and Adolescents (F.A.C.T.S.) Feelings: • Hopelessness: feeling like things are bad and won’t get any better • Fear of losing control, going crazy, harming himself/herself or others • Helplessness: a belief that there’s nothing that can be done to make life better • Worthlessness: feeling like an awful person and people would be better off if he/she were dead • Hating himself/ herself, feeling guilty or ashamed
It is important to know that teenagers may show signs of depression differently from adults.
• Being extremely sad and lonely, feeling anxious, worried or angry all the time
Action: • Drug or alcohol abuse • Talking or writing about death or destruction • Aggression: getting into fights or having argument with people • Recklessness: doing risky or dangerous things
Change: However, these normal changes are internalized differently by each individual and can contribute to adolescent depression. Additionally, with increase in bullying at schools and on social media can be detrimental to an adolescent’s wellbeing6. Adolescents should also be screened for exposure to suicide as suicidal risk increases when a peer commits suicide. This phenomenon of cluster suicide behavior is specific to the adolescent population, and it is due to group affiliations and identity shaping11. Certain groups are at a higher risk of suicidal ideations such as those that identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning youth13. It was found that these populations are two to seven times more likely to attempt suicide when compared to heterosexual populations13. Additionally, recent research found more than 40 percent of transgender young adults report suicide attempts.13 Many depressed adolescents are commonly not diagnosed properly because family members brush them off as being difficult. Relationship problems such as conflict with parents or breakup with a romantic partner are the most common cause of suicidality in childhood and early adolescent suicidal deaths7. Suicide by hanging, suffocation and strangulation are the most common means of suicide in children and early adolescents7. Those who die by suicide often have a history of prior attempts.11.
• Personality: behaving like a different person, becoming withdrawn, tired all the time, not caring about anything, or becoming more talkative, outgoing • Behavior: can’t concentrate on school or regular tasks • Sleeping and eating patterns: sleeping all the time or not being able to sleep at all, or waking up in the middle of the night or early in the morning and not being able to get back to sleep, losing appetite and/or overeating and gaining weight • Losing interest in friends, hobbies and appearance, or inactivites or sports previously enjoyed • Sudden improvement after a period of being down or withdrawn
Threats: • Personality: behaving like a different person, becoming withdrawn, tired all the time, not caring about anything, or becoming more talkative, outgoing • Behavior: can’t concentrate on school or regular tasks • Sleeping and eating patterns: sleeping all the time or not being able to sleep at all, or waking up in the middle of the night or early in the morning and not being able to get back to sleep, losing appetite and/or overeating and gaining weight • Losing interest in friends, hobbies and appearance, or inactivites or sports previously enjoyed
Sudden improvement: • Getting into trouble at school, at home or with the law • Recent loss through death, divorce, separation; the break-up of a relationship; losing an opportunity or a dream; losing self-esteem • Changes in life that feel overwhelming • Being exposed to suicide or the death of a peer under any circumstances **Lifelines: An Evidence Based Suicide Prevention Program is authored by Maureen Underwood, LCSW and John Kalafat, PhD and is published by Hazelden. FACTS is being used with the permission of Ms. Underwood. 49
Screening for suicide In February 2016, the Joint Commission noted that clinicians in emergency, primary and behavioral health care settings have a crucial role in identifying individuals with suicidal ideation14. The Joint Commission also recommended the use of screening tools to assess suicide risk for both adolescents and adults. As psychiatrists and psychologists treat most patients already diagnosed with mental illness, medical care physicians such as primary care providers are in a unique position to identify suicidal ideation in patients without previously diagnosed mental health concerns. One of the simplest ways to screen for depression or suicidal thoughts is to have patients fill out a screening form while they are in the waiting area. These forms are free and readily available online at several locations, and one such online resource is the APA website: https://www.psychiatry. org/psychiatrists/practice/dsm/dsm-5/online-assessment-measures. The tool’s level one cross-cutting symptom measures should be used first as they not only assess suicidal and depressive symptoms, but can highlight other mental illnesses that are not blatantly displayed in a 20 minutes exam with a patient. Level one is a brief inquiry of 13 different domains for adult patients and 12 domains for child and adolescent patients. If a patient answers positively towards a specific domain, level two cross cutting symptom measures are utilized to examine a particular domain in detail. For instance, if the patient answers positively towards the depression questions on a level one survey, the patient will be asked to fill out a level two survey examining their depression in depth. Other screening tools include the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9, a more brief version exists called PHQ-9), and the Suicide Assessment Five-Step Evaluation and Triage (SAFE-T)1. These screening surveys can also be used to evaluate treatment progress. As often times people come into the doctor’s office to discuss a medical issue and there is not enough time to discuss their psychosocial issues, using screening tools can help identify those at risk for suicide. Once individuals with high suicide risk are identified, it is important inquiries about suicide are interwoven into a contextual discourse about his or her psychosocial functioning and well-being. If the subject of suicide is offered without context, the patient is less likely to disclose their true intentions. Still, vocabulary used by the physician should be straightforward and clear. If the patient denies suicidal ideations or depression, providing supportive statements will help the patient understand that the concern for their safety is genuine. Open-ended questions should always be used as closed-ended assessment such as “you aren’t feeling suicidal, are you?” do not give the patient a chance to share their true feelings8. When the physician answers are nondescript such as “okay”, “good”, or “right”, the patient’s disclosure may be halted as the physician will not appear to be interested in discussing the sensitive subject of suicidal tendencies8. Most suicidal patients are ambivalent about dying and that is why just discussing with the primary care doctor can divert the patient from killing him/herself for the moment and it should alert the physician for the need of treatment14. It is important that the primary care physician develops therapeutic relationships with their patients so that both mental and physical health care treated with optimal care. It is also important to note that it is imperative to ask if patients have guns at home and whether they are in a locked box. Over 60% of firearm deaths in the United States are suicides and the majority of completed suicides are gun deaths1. 50 Delaware Journal of Public Health DECEMBER 2016
Suicide Interventions Once the at-risk individual has been identified, the next step is ensuring their safety though treatment. Upwards of 90% of suicide attempts are committed by adults and adolescents with underlying psychiatric disorders and many of those individuals are untreated at the time of their death. Treating underlying psychiatric disorders is a crucial component to preventing suicidal behavior. However, not every depressed person will attempt suicide. Different therapies have been shown to be effective in treating co-occurring suicidality and mental illness in patients. Psychotherapy also plays an important role in suicide prevention. Cognitive therapy has been shown to reduce suicide reattempt rates in patients by half. Dialectical behavioral therapy has also shown promise in borderline patients who have attempt suicide. In cases where the patients pose an imminent threat to themselves it is important to maintain the level of safety through follow-up inpatient or outpatient therapeutic support14. If a patient is diagnosed as being depressed, it is important to start them on antidepressants and refer them to a psychiatrist and a therapist. A safety plan should be addressed prior to allowing the patient to leave. The patient should be asked if he/she has any access to weapons. If the patient responds positively, it should be recommended that the weapons be removed temporarily or locked somewhere else so that it is not accessible14. As appropriate, it may also be beneficial to enlist the patient’s family and friends in order to enforce and explore the accessibility to weapons for committing self-harm14. The patient should identify his/her triggers for suicidal thoughts and then find coping solution that might help. The patient should also be asked what is important in their lives so that they hope to keep going. The patient should identify people they are comfortable to talk to when they get in a suicidal state. Once antidepressants have been prescribed for the patient, it is important to follow up within 2 weeks to ensure that the medication is working properly. There is a clear benefit for using pharmacotherapy in patients over age of 75 who present with depression5. When prescribing for adolescents, there is a “black box” warning of increased suicidality in adolescent patients starting antidepressants. However, this warning should not deter treatment. Family members should be informed of the black box warnings and so as to closely observe these individuals for any change in behaviors. Additionally, in certain patients pharmacotherapy is not sufficient to battle their depression, and it is important to also refer these patients for therapy. The importance of participating in therapy should be stressed upon as it can help prevent future episodes of depression. If the patient does have increased suicidal behavior, the patient should be sent immediately to the emergency department at their local hospital for a behavioral evaluation for immediate inpatient treatment.14. An immediate behavioral evaluation can determine the patient’s safety. At the hospital the mental health screener will formally evaluate them and it will be up to the screener whether the patient needs inpatient treatment immediately. However if the patient presents with any type of immediate suicide threat, it is best to send the patient to the emergency department at the local hospital without any other intervention. Immediate suicide threat can be defined as patient that has a suicidal intent and/or with/without a plan14. Suicide re-attempts are often made in the period right after psychiatric hospitalization or during the next major depressive episode. The risk of suicide is higher the first year after hospitalization14. Keep in mind that a close followup, especially in days to weeks after discharge should be coordinated with outpatient providers. Once again, restricting a patient from means of suicide (firearms, weapons, chemicals, drugs, etc.) is an important step to preventing future attempts.
Delaware: A Population Case Study The rate of suicide in Delaware has been slowly decreasing since the discovery of suicide clusters in Kent and Sussex County. Before their discovery, the state suicide rate was higher than the national comparison. In 2012, deaths by suicide among 12 to 21 year-olds slightly more than doubled compared to the statistics in 2011. In addition, many of these deaths occurred in close proximity to each other, which warranted a public health investigation that performed root cause analyses of the teen suicide clusters. The study identified 11 individuals that died by suicide and 116 youths that attempted suicide in the Kent and Sussex counties between January and May of 2012. The case control analysis found many of the suicides were significant as there was a past history of suicide attempts and depression when compared with the control group. However, there were some cases that the suicide was unplanned and impulsive, possibly impacted by life stressors. Life stressors were defined as having mental health illness, recent problems with parents, legal problems, recent problems with significant others, substance use, academic problems, communication with others about suicide, peer problems, and sexual minority status. It was found that many of the youth had multiple risk factors that precipitated the incident. The most common cause of nonlethal suicide attempts were overdose by over-thecounter medications or prescription medications found in the adolescent’s home. About 15% of the 116 youth that attempted suicide had a peer or friend that had committed suicide. Regression analysis showed there was a lack of mental health training to recognize the suicidality, limited mental health support in the community, lack of resources to get help for mental health issues and substance abuse problems were a significant contributors to the suicide event. Furthermore, lack of positive activities and easy gun access also contributed to the suicides.
Suicide Prevention Efforts in Delaware In June 2013, Delaware increased its efforts to reduce incidents of suicide among all populations with a special concentration on adolescents. The Delaware Suicide Prevention Coalition, which began efforts in 2004, has enlisted multiple public, private and nonprofit organizations towards the goal of reducing suicide. The mission of the coalition is to raise awareness that suicide is a preventable public health problem, and to enable the behavioral and social changes necessary to reduce suicidal ideation and attempts. The Delaware Suicide Prevention Coalition developed a five-year strategy “The State of Delaware Suicide Prevention Plan” which outlined 13 goals to complete this task such as: establishing suicide prevention activities, increasing education related to factors that offer protection from suicidal behaviors, promoting efforts to reduce access to lethal means of suicide among individuals with identified suicide risk, and promoting and supporting research on suicide behavior and prevention. By 2018 the strategy will be considered effective if suicide rates drop12. In addition to this plan, Delaware officials also instituted House Bill 90. This law mandates that schools must institute 90 minutes of suicide prevention training to their employees yearly. The goal of this training is to recognize youth suicide as a problem that needs to be tackled in the population and for schools to develop prevention programs to eliminate it. As the bill was signed in June 2015, its effectiveness has yet to be evaluated. The Delaware Suicide Prevention Coalition has five subcommittees, which are each committed to a different area of suicide prevention work.
The committees and some of their accomplishments are listed below.
Higher Education Suicide Prevention Subcommittee • Started in August 2016, this group is the newest subcommittee under the DSPC. • This group aims to provide various activities throughout the school semester to get college-wide involvement in suicide prevention efforts, whether that may be trainings, contests, providing resources, or simple suicide prevention messaging. • The group includes representation from five local college campuses, the Division of Prevention and Behavioral Health Services, and the Mental Health Association in Delaware (chair). • The subcommittee is planning to have a social marketing campaign in February of 2017 where they will promote the Crisis Text Line, provide suicide prevention trainings to university/college staff and students, and also provide some screenings. • Project SAFETY, which is the work of a federal, five year Garrett Lee Smith grant awarded to Delaware in 2014, is providing a behavioral health, electronic screening tool to primary care physicians, Emergency Departments, and colleges in Delaware, free of charge. The tool is called BH-Works, screens across 13 domains, and provides immediate feedback identifying critical items to the nurse or other designee, leading to more accurate and efficient identification of students at risk, and promoting immediate referral to address those risks. It can also automatically become part of the individual’s electronic medical record. This committee has presented the screening tool to colleges and universities as a free and effective screening and data collection resource. More information can be found about the screening tool here: http://bh-works.com/whybh-works/
Get Right Side Up • The mission of Get Right Side Up is to promote mental well-being and suicide awareness/prevention to the youth population. • A youth is more likely to talk to a peer than an adult when having thoughts of suicide, so the focus is on educating youth on the warning signs of suicide, and on where to turn for help when someone is at risk. • The group is made up of representatives from various organizations, including the Mental Health Association in Delaware, the Division of Prevention and Behavioral Health/Project SAFETY, Rockford Center, Dover Behavioral Health, The CAUSE, Polytech High School, William Penn High School, and St. Mark’s High School. • The committee hosts various contests throughout the year to encourage youth participation and promote suicide prevention. Previous contests included a YouTube PSA contest where the winning video was shown in movie theaters throughout Delaware, a second PSA contest with the winning video being shown on Comcast cable channels, and an Instagram contest in which participants had to create a new logo. • Youth suicide prevention messaging is promoted during various trainings and presentations, email blasts, meetings, health fairs, posters, school newsletters, etc. • The group maintains its own website – www.getrightsideup.org 51
Military Subcommittee • The military subcommittee has provided a yearly conference for the past 5 years, focused on suicide prevention in the military community. Participants include active military service members, veterans, their families, and providers who work with the military community. Topics range from PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury to sexual assault in the armed forces, all related back to suicide prevention. The conference always includes a panel of veterans who speak about their recovery, and a plethora of exhibitors who provide resources to the military community. • There has also been a yearly family event planned by this subcommittee. Most recently, the committee has partnered with the New Castle County Night Under the Stars, where families can camp at a local park. The committee has a special section set up where military families can connect with one another and are provided with food, fun and information about resources in the community. • Suicide prevention gatekeeper trainings take place throughout the year, not only for active duty military, but for providers, students, school staff and many other individuals throughout the community.
Surveillance Subcommittee • Since the cluster of suicides occurred in 2012, the coalition has taken a closer look at how we can access more real-time data related to suicide behavior, so that intervention can be deployed more successfully. • This committee was formed in response to this need, and mainly includes representatives from the state Division of Public Health. • For the past year, the division has worked towards becoming part of the CDC’s National Violent Death Reporting System, and recently was successful in joining. The committee hopes that this will create a real breakthrough for Delaware in being able to take a closer look at suicide data much more quickly than before. The committee is currently familiarizing itself with how the system works. There are mobile crisis response systems in Delaware. There is one for kids under 18 which can be contacted 24-7 at 1800 969 HELP (4357) and the adult mobile crisis is 1-866-998-2243. Additionally Project SAFETY, Division of Prevention and Behavioral Health, has brought Crisis Text Line into Delaware which provides 24/7 support via texting, a modality many adolescents and young adults favor over phoning. To use this serviced Text DE to 741741. All ages are welcome to use it.
With increasing rates, suicide is considered an important public health issue. There is more focus in the public health sector to collect and analyze data when suicide occurs, create and implement preventive suicide strategies, and reevaluate whether the interventions are effective9. Public health investigations are collecting data to create a more informative preventive plan to address the rise of suicide rates among middle-aged adults9. Several challenges for this particular subset are intimate partner violence, substance use and economic challenges. There are also increasing online resources to engage individuals in seeking help for suicides. With the amount of resources available, no one should suffer from suicidal ideation. Patients can be treated more easily if medical, behavioral, and legislative personnel emphasize the importance of primary suicide prevention, suicide factor identification, and ease of access to mental health services. By decreasing the stigma of seeking mental health help and providing support services for emotional, interpersonal and financial stressors health, care professionals can identify and treat the signs and symptoms of suicide before it is too late9. References 1 Mandrusiak M, Rudd MD, Joiner TE, Jr., Berman AL, Van Orden KA, Witte T. Warning signs for suicide on the Internet: a descriptive study. Suicide & life-threatening behavior, 2006;36:263-71. 2 Jin HM, Khazem LR, Anestis MD. Recent Advances in Means Safety as a Suicide Prevention Strategy. Current psychiatry reports, 2016;18:96. 3 Curtin SC, Warner M, Hedegaard H. Increase in Suicide in the United States, 1999-2014. NCHS data brief, 2016:1-8. 4 Schwartz-Lifshitz M, Zalsman G, Giner L, Oquendo MA. Can we really prevent suicide? Current psychiatry reports, 2012;14:624-33. 5 Zalsman G, Hawton K, Wasserman D, van Heeringen K, Arensman E, Sarchiapone M et al. Suicide prevention strategies revisited: 10-year systematic review. The lancet Psychiatry, 2016;3:646-59. 6 Kroning M, Kroning K. Teen Depression and Suicide, A SILENT CRISIS. Journal of Christian nursing : a quarterly publication of Nurses Christian Fellowship, 2016;33:78-86. 7 Sheftall AH, Asti L, Horowitz LM, Felts A, Fontanella CA, Campo JV et al. Suicide in Elementary School-Aged Children and Early Adolescents. Pediatrics, 2016. 8 Vannoy SD, Fancher T, Meltvedt C, Unutzer J, Duberstein P, Kravitz RL. Suicide inquiry in primary care: creating context, inquiring, and following up. Annals of family medicine, 2010;8:33-9. 9 David-Ferdon C, Crosby AE, Caine ED, Hindman J, Reed J, Iskander J. CDC Grand Rounds: Preventing Suicide Through a Comprehensive Public Health Approach. MMWR Morbidity and mortality weekly report, 2016;65:894-7.
Conclusion The rate of suicide has been rising continuously over the past decade. Evidence shows that suicide can be prevented sooner if depression is detected and treated. Suicide can be detected by using the primary care physician as a medium for screening. There are several tools provided by the American Psychiatry Association and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. After assessing a patient and finding them positive for suicidal ideations, the course of treatment will depend on the primary care provider. The best course of treatment is to refer the patient to a psychiatrist and therapist and, if the patient is depressed, to decide on the medications. Depending on the severity of the patient’s ideations, it may be important to also incorporate inpatient or outpatient resources provided by coalitions such as Get Right Side Up and the Delaware Suicide Prevention Coalition. 52 Delaware Journal of Public Health DECEMBER 2016
10 CDC. Web¬Based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS). Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2016. http://www.cdc.gov/ injury/wisqars/index.html 11 Silverman, P., Fowler, K., Crosby, A., Parks, S., & Ivey, A. (2013). Investigation of a Youth Suicide Cluster in Kent and Sussex Counties – Delaware, 2012 (Rep.). DE: Division of Violence Prevention National Center for Injury Prevention and Control Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://dhss.delaware.gov/admin/files/de_cdc_final_ report_21913.pdf 12 State of Delaware Suicide Prevention Plan. July 2013-July 2018. A Five Year Strategy. Approved by Delaware Suicide Prevention Coalition. 2013. http://www.sprc.org/sites/ default/files/Delaware%20Suicide%20Prevention%20Action%20Plan_2013%202018.pdf 13 Marshall, A. (2016). Suicide Prevention Interventions for sexual and gender minority youth: An unmet need. Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, 89, 205-213. 14 Sentinel Event Alert. 2016 Feb 24;(56):1-7. 15 http://www.integration.samhsa.gov/clinical-practice/screening-tools
Connie Chang is a 2nd year psychiatry resident at Delaware Psychiatric Center. She has a passion for working with children and adolescents. She is an aspiring child psychiatrist and has plans to work in underserved areas in the United States. Sehba Husain-Krautter is a 2nd year psychiatry resident at Delaware Psychiatric Center. After completing medical school she pursued a PhD in molecular biology which sparked her interest in the neuroimmune mechanisms that contribute to psychiatric illness. She is the recipient of a NARSAD young investigator grant and in addition to her residency, is also conducting a research project to investigate the role of B cells in patients with schizophrenia. In the future she plans to pursue a fellowship in geriatric psychiatry as well as continue her work in basic and translational research. Angela Golden is a Registered Nurse for Delaware’s Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Department. Her interest is in improving the quality of care of the psychiatric population in the medical profession. She currently works as a member of DSAMH’s Quality Assurance Unit. Lee Berman is currently a native of Philadelphia who obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in finance from West Chester University. He received a MBA in healthcare administration from Davenport University. Dr. Berman graduated from medical school in 2011 from Xavier University School of Medicine. He is a 3rd year psychiatry resident at the Delaware Psychiatric Center and has plans to stay within the Philadelphia region. Joseph Esposito is a native New Yorker who attended Binghamton University to obtain his bachelors in biology. He obtained his master’s degree in natural sciences at the Rowell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY. Dr. Esposito then went on to earn his medical degree at Ross University. He is currently a 2nd year Psychiatry resident at the Delaware Psychiatric Center and has a strong interest in addiction medicine.
Jennifer Seo is the Project Director of Suicide Prevention at the Mental Health Association in Delaware. Jennifer implements and delivers gatekeeper trainings, provides support to Delaware organizations that inquire about suicide prevention and coordinates various Delaware suicide prevention activities through the Delaware Suicide Prevention Coalition and diverse committees. Jennifer Smolowitz has been a Community Educator for the Mental Health Association in Delaware since September, 2014. She oversees statewide peer support groups for depression and anxiety, as well as grief support groups for those who have lost a loved one to suicide, an accident or a murder. Jennifer received her Masters degree in Public Administration from Ohio University’s Voinovich School in May, 2014. Dr. Harvey Doppelt, a licensed psychologist, is director of the Specialized Services Unit in the Division of Prevention and Behavioral Health Services. He is the principal investigator and project director of Project SAFETY, a five year funded SAMSHA Garrett Lee Smith Suicide Prevention Grant. He also served as the principal investigator and project director for the Garrett Lee Smith Grant which ran from 2011 to 2014 under which he trained 15,000 students in Delaware in suicide prevention. For more than 20 years Dr. Doppelt’s unit was responsible for managing youth being treated in inpatient psychiatric facilities or by the state’s mobile crisis service for children. Gerard Gallucci, M.D., M.H.S. is the Medical Director in the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services. He holds degrees from Columbia College (NY), George Washington University (DC) and Johns Hopkins (Baltimore). He completed his residency in Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins followed by a NIH-sponsored fellowship in Psychiatric Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. He currently holds faculty positions at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Thomas Jefferson Medical College, and Drexel University College of Medicine.
Sanju George is currently a 3rd year psychiatry resident at the Delaware Psychiatric Center in New Castle, DE. Through his current psychiatric training, Dr. George has learned the many challenges that patients with mental health and substance abuse issues face on a daily basis within various communities in the State of Delaware. As a result, he has developed a deep passion to serve the unique mental health needs of his patients. Emily Coggin Vera, LCSW, is the Executive Director at the Mental Health Association in Delaware, where she has worked since 2009. She provides a variety of gatekeeper trainings and presentations on mental health and suicide. Emily received her Master’s in Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2007.
53
The Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) on Health-related Quality of Life, Mental Health, and Hospitalizations in Delaware Khaleel S. Hussaini, Ph.D.1, 2, Tabatha-Offutt Powell, Dr.P.H.1, Mathew Christensen, Ph.D.1, Leah Woodall, M.P.A.2 1. Epidemiology, Health Data, and Informatics Section, Division of Public Health, Delaware Health and Social Services 2. Family Health Systems Section, Division of Public Health, Delaware Health and Social Services
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the submitted article are those of the authors, and not an official position of the Delaware Department of Health and Human Services.
E
motional stress early in life causes long-term changes in brain circuits, potentiating many psychiatric disorders such as PTSD, depression, and substance abuse (Teicher, Andersen, Polcari, Anderson, & Navalta, 2002; Bremmer, 2003). There is compelling evidence to suggest that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) increase the likelihood of physical and psychological illnesses in later years (Kalmakis, & Chandler, 2016; Afifi, Enns, Cox, Asmundson, Stein, & Sareen, 2008; Felitti et al., 1998). ACEs have also been linked to various health conditions such as obesity, heart, lung and liver diseases, alcohol and tobacco dependence, IV drug abuse, prostitution, and an overall poor quality of life (Kalmakis, & Chandler, 2016; Van niel, Pachter, Wade, Felitti, & Stein, 2014; Wu, Schairer, Dellor, & Grella, 2010; Batten, Aslan, Maciejewski, & Mazure, 2004; Dube, Felitti, Dong, Giles, & Anda, 2003). ACEs account for almost two thirds of serious drug use, with a dose-response observed for each additional adverse event experienced by the child (Dube, Felitti, Dong, Chapman, Giles, & Anda, 2003). While sexual abuse is only a fraction of such adverse childhood experiences, emotional, and physical as well as household dysfunction, contribute to high-risk behaviors and poor health outcomes (Felitti, et al., 1998). Consequently, ACEs have been associated with a long-term increase of healthcare utilization and costs (Canon, Bonomi, Anderson, Rivara, & Thompson, 2010; Anda, Brown, Felitti, Dube, & Giles, 2008; Bonomi, Anderson, & Rivara, 2008; Corso, Edwards, Fang, Mercy, 2008; Farley & Patsalides, 2001 Sansone, Wiederman, & Sansone, 1997). According the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the estimated prevalence of ACEs in the U.S. is 60 percent (CDC, 2010). Although national estimates have been previously reported, limited information is available about the prevalence and influence of ACEs in Delaware. Therefore, we estimated the Delaware-specific prevalence and assessed the influence of adverse childhood experiences on mental health, substance use, and overall well-being among Delaware residents.
METHODS Data and Sample We used data from the 2015 Delaware Household Health Survey (DeHHS), a dual-frame (i.e., landline and cell phone) random-digit dialing (RDD) survey conducted by Delaware Public Health Institute’s (DPHI) and modeled on the Public Health Management Corporation’s (PHMC) Southeastern Pennsylvania (SEPA) Household Health Survey. The survey was administered to Delaware’s non-institutionalized 54 Delaware Journal of Public Health DECEMBER 2016
population living in households containing at least one person age 18 or older in Delaware’s three counties; Kent, New Castle, and Sussex. The DeHHS survey was conducted from September 30, 2015 through December 20, 2015. For this study, we utilized 2015 Delaware data with a total sample (n) of 2,609 observations, which included a module on ACEs and several self-reported health outcome measures. The landline response rate for DE was 26% and the cell phone response rate of 30 % as compared to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funded Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) responses for DE 45% and 40% respectively. The 2015 DeHHS survey also contains population weights derived through iterative proportional fitting (raking) using gender, household income, and race and ethnicity consistent with the complex survey design and sampling strategy. Of the 2,609 responses, a total of 2,609 (100%) responded to the ACE module and complete data for variables of interest was available for 2,506 respondents (96%). Our final analytic sample therefore comprised of 2,506 responses. Because the percent of missing data was less than five percent we did not impute missing data (Schaffer, 1999). This study was exempted from institutional review board approval.
Measures Our three primary outcome variables of interest were (1) self-reported health status, (2) current mental health status, and (3) current substance abuse. Self-reported health status was ascertained by asking respondents, “Would you say that in general your health is excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor?” with response choices 1 = Excellent; 2=Very Good; 3=Good; 4=Fair; and 5=Poor. We dichotomized the self-reported health measure into two mutually exclusive categories (1 = Fair/Poor Health; 0 = Good/Excellent). Mental health status was measured in DeHSS as, “Have you ever been diagnosed with a mental health condition including clinical depression, anxiety disorder, or bipolar disorder?” with a dichotomous outcome measure (1 = Yes; 2 = No). Similarly, substance abuse was measured in DeHSS as, “Have you ever been told by a doctor or other health professional that they have/had a substance abuse problem?” with a dichotomous outcome measure (1 = Yes; 2 = No).
Results Table 1 details the ACEs questions and prevalence estimates of individual ACEs questions. Parental separation and/or divorce was the most commonly reported adverse childhood experience (32%; 95%CI: 30.2-35.0); followed by living with a member who abused substances (21%; 95%CI: 19.0-23.2); experiencing physical abuse (15%; 95%CI: 13.4-17.1); and experiencing verbal abuse (15%; 95%CI: 13.2-16.8). More than 55 percent of the Delaware residents indicated having been exposed to one or more adverse childhood experiences (see table 2). Specifically, approximately 23 percent (95% CI: 21.3-25.6) of the Delaware respondents reported having experienced one adverse childhood event; approximately 19 percent (95%CI: 16.6-20.7) of the Delaware respondents reported having experiences two to three adverse childhood events; and approximately 14 percent (95%CI: 12.1-15.6) of Delaware respondents reported having experienced four or more adverse childhood events. Table 2 presents the prevalence estimates and characteristics of the Delaware respondents 18 and older who reported their overall health as being poor or fair, having been diagnosed with a mental health problem, and substance abuse problem. Of the 2,506 adult respondents 18 and older, 17 percent (95%CI: 15.1-18.9) indicated having taken poor or fair health; 17 percent (95%CI: 15.119.0) indicated having been diagnosed with a mental health condition; and slightly over 10 percent (95%CI: 9.0-12.1) having been diagnosed with a substance abuse problem. Figure 1 displays the overall health status, mental health condition, and substance abuse problem stratified by ACEs Table 1. Delaware Household Health Survey questions and prevalence of self-reported adverse childhood categories for Delaware adults 18 and older. There is some experiences (ACEs) among respondents aged 18 years or older, Delaware 2015. evidence of a dose-response relation with regards to ACEs Our primary exposure variable was adverse childhood experiences and our primary outcome variables of interest. For instance, (ACEs), which was measured in the DeHSS as a composite index and percent who reported poor or fair health increased with number of ACEs calculated using the number of “yes” responses to questions measuring from 10 percent with no adverse experiences to 16 percent for those with three categories of childhood abuse (verbal, physical, and sexual) and five one adverse experience; increased to 23 percent for those with two to three categories of household dysfunction (household mental illness, incarcerated household members, household substance abuse, parental separation/ Figure 1. Percentage of Delaware residents who reported adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) by self-reported health status, mental health, and substance divorce, and witnessing domestic violence) to which the respondent abuse conditions was exposed during childhood. ACEs questions included in the survey are detailed in Table 1. The ACEs score had good reliability (a = 0.76); therefore, we categorized the ACE score into two mutually exclusive categories of “exposed” (one or more) and “unexposed” (ACE score of zero).
Statistical Analysis We estimated the prevalence rates and estimated 95% confidence intervals (CI) for selected covariates and then performed bivariate analyses for our hypothesized predictor ACE score using Rao-Scott chi-square test to account for complex survey design and utilized p < 0.05 for significance. Adjusted odds ratios (AOR) with corresponding 95% CIs were estimated using a minimal sufficient set of covariates identified to reduce confounding bias based on a priori knowledge that included gender, age, and race and ethnicity. All analyses were performed using SAS 9.3 (SAS Institute, Inc., Cary, NC). 55
adverse experiences; and increased to 32 percent for those who reported four or more adverse experiences respectively. Similarly, the percent who were diagnosed with a mental health condition increased from eight percent for those with no ACEs to 12 percent for one adverse experience; increased to 27 percent for those with two to three ACEs; and increased to 41 percent for those who reported four or more ACEs. Finally, a similar dose-response relationship was evident for substance abuse as well. The percent who were diagnosed with a substance abuse problem increased from five percent with no reports of ACE to nine percent for one ACE, 19 percent for two to three reports of ACEs, and 22 percent for four or more ACEs. Table 3 presents crude and adjusted odds ratio for our primary outcomes of interest stratified by increasing exposure levels of ACEs (no ACEs to â&#x2030;Ľ 4ACEs). Those adults who were exposed to one adverse childhood experience were 80 percent more likely to have reported poor or fair health (OR = 1.8; 95%CI: 1.3-2.5) compared to those who did not report an ACE. Adults reporting two or three ACEs were nearly three times more likely to report poor or fair health compared to those adults who did not experience an ACE (OR = 2.9; 95%CI: 2.0-4.2) and four times more likely to report poor or fair health (OR = 4.6; 95%CI: 4.0; 95%CI, 2.4-7.0) as compared to those who did not report any ACEs. With regards to mental health, we found a similar dose-response relation. For instance, those who reported being exposed to one adverse childhood experience were 60 percent more likely to have been diagnosed with a mental health condition (OR = 1.6; 95%CI: 1.1-2.5) as compared to those who were unexposed to an ACE; four times more likely to have been diagnosed with a mental health condition (OR = 4.2; 95%CI: 2.8-6.3) when exposed to Table 2. Characteristics of study population of adults age 18 years and older that participated in the two or three ACEs; and finally eight times more likely to Delaware Household Health Survey, Delaware 2015. have been diagnosed with a mental condition (OR = 8.0; 95%CI: 5.3-12.1) when exposed to four or more adverse from a dose-response relation, suggests that adverse childhood experiences childhood experiences as compared to persons who reported no ACE. may have deleterious effects in adulthood. Finally, with regards to substance abuse, we found that those who reported being exposed to one adverse childhood experience were two times more likely to be diagnosed with a substance abuse problem (OR = 2.1; 95%CI: 1.2-3.6) as compared to those who were unexposed to ACE; five times more likely to be diagnosed with a substance abuse problem (OR= 5.0; 95%CI: 3.1-8.2) when exposed to two or three ACEs; and nearly seven times more likely to be diagnosed with a substance abuse problem (OR = 6.8; 95%CI: 4.1-11.2) when exposed to four or more adverse childhood experiences.
DISCUSSION Our results suggest that adverse childhood experiences contribute to the overall well-being of individuals in Delaware; whether related to selfreported health, mental health, and/or substance abuse problems. Despite the variation within individual ACEs questions, the overall Delaware ACE prevalence estimate (55%) was similar to national estimates (60%). The cumulative effect of ACEs on these health outcomes, as evidenced 56 Delaware Journal of Public Health DECEMBER 2016
Although the ACEs questions differed from the questions in BRFSS and other studies; the prevalence estimates for ACE in Delaware population were similar to other national estimates (Rose, Xie, & Stineman, 2014) and are consistent with other studies that systematically reviewed the impact of ACEs on health outcomes (Kalmakis, & Chandler, 2016). For example, BRFSS estimates reflect that 57 percent of the respondents reported one or more ACEs, while the DeHHS estimates are nearly identical (56%). Although similar, prevalence of ACEs was higher among women in Delaware (57%) as compared to men (54%); and similar to BRFSS with regards to a decreasing prevalence of ACEs with increasing age. Onethird of the respondents indicated that their parents were divorced and/ or separated, and one-fifth of respondents indicated that they lived with someone who was an alcoholic and/or abused substances. Verbal and physical abuse was also commonly reported by the respondents in their recall of adverse childhood experiences, as well as living with someone who was mentally ill. We found evidence for a dose-response relation suggesting the cumulative effect of adverse childhood experiences and health.
Table 3. Odds ratios for the association between adverse childhood experiences and self-reported health status, mental health, and substance abuse conditions of adults aged 18 years and older in Delaware, 2015.
The fact that ACEs impact neurodevelopment through epigenetic mechanisms suggests that adverse environmental conditions may fundamentally alter the way individuals respond to stress (Rose, Xie, & Stineman, 2014). The cumulative effect of ACEs on health outcomes suggests the importance of identifying opportunities to intervene early childhood. While we conceptualized mental health and substance abuse as health outcomes in this study, these outcomes are perhaps intermediaries to general well-being and as such should be explored in future studies as mediating factors. A recent study compared if retrospective ACE measures were similar to prospective ACE measures and found that ACE measures were distributed similarly despite moderate agreement (Reuben et al., 2016). The study further found that retrospective measures such as this study had stronger associations to life outcomes that were measured subjectively (such as self-reports) as compared to prospective measures and as such recommended to use objective outcome measures (Reuben et al., 2016). There are a few potential limitations to this study. Recall bias, as noted by Reuben et al. (2016), with respect to subjective self-reported measures, may contribute to an underestimate and/or overestimate of certain health outcomes. An interesting finding from Reuben et al. (2016) was that certain personality traits were related to recall on ACEs. Nonetheless, given the fact that there are very few anthropometric measures in BRFSS and/or DeHHS for objectively measuring health outcomes, currently the best available measures are self-reports. Furthermore, face-to-face surveys conducted by the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) have suggested that the prevalence estimates corroborate with those of the BRFSS (Li et al., 2012). While DeHHS survey is similar to the BRFSS, it is important to note that it is the first Delaware specific survey that captured ACEs as well as other measures similar to BRFSS. As such DeHHS survey response percentages were considerably lower as compared to the BRFSS survey and hence, there are some limitations to the external validity. Because there were no comparable ACEs data in BRFSS, these estimates may at best serve as preliminary. The DeHHS sample was almost half of the typical BRFSS Delaware sample and as such the precision of the estimates derived from DeHHS are relatively wider as compared to typical estimates obtained in BRFSS. Furthermore, both landline (26%) and cell phone (30%) response percentages for the DeHHS were lower than the CDC-funded Delaware BRFS responses of 45% and 40%, respectively. Despite these limitations, DeHHS provided us with ACE estimates consistent with other studies and can potentially inform future research and policy directives regarding minimizing risk factors and increasing protective factors related to adverse childhood experiences.
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57
The Relative Contributions of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Healthy Environments to Child Flourishing in Delaware Dana Thompson, M.P.H.1*, Iman Sharif, M.D., M.P.H.2 and Aileen Fink, Ph.D.3 1 Center for Women’s, Infants, and Children’s Health Research, Christiana Care Health System, 4755 Ogeltown-Stanton Road, Newark, DE 19718, USA 2 Pediatrics, Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, 1600 Rockland Rd, Wilmington, DE 19803, USA 3Delaware Children’s Department, 1825 Faulkland Rd, Wilmington, DE 19805, United States
*Corresponding author Funding Source: This study was supported by an Institutional Development Award (IDeA) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under grant number U54-GM104941 (PI: Binder-Macleod).
A
ccording to the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children’s Health, 47.9% of children nationwide were exposed to at least one adverse childhood experience (ACEs) (Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative, 2013; Bethell, Newacheck, Hawes, & Halfon, 2014). ACEs are potentially traumatic events that occur prior to the age of 18 and which, in the absence of adequate support, create toxic stress which disrupts normal brain development (Center on the Developing Child, 2007). Over the years, multiple studies have indicated that individuals exposed to childhood adversity have increased likelihood of engaging in health risk behaviors and higher disease morbidity later in life (Anda et al., 2002, 2008; Brown et al., 2009; Chapman, et al., 2004; Dong M et al., 2004; Dube et al., 2003; Felitti et al., 1998, 2009; Gilbert et al., 2010; Kelly-Irving, et al., 2012; Williamson, Thompson, Anda, Felitti, 2002). Cumulative ACE exposure (4 or more ACEs) has been linked to various health, social, and behavioral issues such as chronic health conditions, depression, and premature death (Anda et al., 2002, 2008; Brown et al., 2009; Chapman, et al., 2004; Dong M et al., 2004; Dube et al., 2003; Felitti et al., 1998, 2009; Gilbert et al., 2010; Kelly-Irving, et al., 2012; Williamson, Thompson, Anda, Felitti, 2002). The 1992-1995 pioneering ACE study conducted as a collaboration between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Kaiser Permanente’s Health Appraisal Clinic demonstrated numerous associations between the exposure to ACEs with the prevalence of risk factors and diseases in adulthood (Felitti et al., 1998). The study found a dose-response relationship between exposure and impact on health; participants with higher ACE exposure were more likely to develop chronic diseases including obesity, chronic headaches, ischemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and autoimmune disease (Felitti et al., 1998). There were also increased psychosocial risks of depression, alcoholism, homelessness, suicide attempts, illicit drug use and tobacco use (Felitti et al., 1998). 58 Delaware Journal of Public Health DECEMBER 2016
While prior research focused mainly on ACEs and adult health and wellbeing, more recent studies are beginning to look at the number and types of ACEs and a variety of outcomes related to child health and well-being (Balistreri, 2015; Kerker et al., 2015; Perez, Jennings, Piquero, & Baglivio, 2016). Little is known about the immediate impact ACEs have on flourishing behaviors among children. ACEs may affect a child’s ability to flourish, especially among children who experience more than one adverse event. Understanding these effects of exposure to ACEs during childhood can promote early interventions to prevent long-term adverse health outcomes and help improve children’s ability to thrive despite ACE exposure. The primary objective of this study was to test the relationship between the number of ACEs and a measure of child well-being among Delaware children under the age of 18. Additionally, we examined whether, in the context of ACE exposure, there were factors which diminished or enhanced child well-being.
Methods Study Population We performed a secondary data analysis on the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children’s Health (NCHS), a national telephone survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) on households with children aged 0-17 (Blumber, Foster, & Frasier, 2012). NCHS provides rich data on multiple, intersecting aspects of children’s lives—including physical, emotional, and behavioral health indicators, access to quality health care, and the child’s family, neighborhood, school, and social context. The study sample size was limited to only include Delaware residents.
Outcome Variables Our primary outcome of interest was child flourishing. Child flourishing was defined as usually or always having several NCHS indicators based on the child’s age (2011/12 National Survey of Children’s Health, 2013). For children 0-5 years old, indicators of child
flourishing included the following: usually or always being affectionate and tender with a parent, bouncing back quickly when things don’t go his or her way, showing interest in learning new things, and smiling and laughing a lot. For children 6-17 years old, flourishing indicators included the following: usually or always finishing tasks and following through with plans, staying calm and in control when faced with a challenge and showing interest and curiosity in learning new things.
Independent Variables Demographic variables included age, race/ethnicity, and income. Age was classified as 0-5 years old and 6-17 years old; race/ethnicity was grouped as white non-Hispanic, black non-Hispanic, Hispanic/Latino, and other. Income was based on the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) income groups and categorized as household income below 200% Federal Poverty Level (FPL) and at or above 200% FPL (2011/12 National Survey of Children’s Health, 2013). Parental factors included overall parental health and parental stress. All health status questions were self-reported and considered excellent if the child’s mother or father responded “Excellent” or “Very Good” to all emotional and physical health indicator questions. Parental stress was defined as children whose parents “Usually” or “Always” experienced stress from parenting. Neighborhood factors such as a neighborhood support, neighborhood amenities, neighborhood safety, and neighborhood risks were also quantified. A child’s neighborhood was considered supportive if parents indicated having people in the neighborhood who helped each other out, people in the neighborhood who watched each other’s children, people in the neighborhood who they trusted to help with their child, and people in the neighborhood they could count on. Positive neighborhood amenities
were indicated if neighborhoods had sidewalks, a library, park, and recreation center. Neighborhood risks were indicated if a neighborhood had any litter, dilapidated housing, broken windows, or graffiti. There were nine ACEs included in the NSCH: 1) economic hardship, 2) divorce/separation of parent, 3) incarceration of parent, 4) death of parent, 5) household mental illness, 6) household alcohol or drug abuse, 7) witness of domestic violence, 8) witness/victim of neighborhood violence, 9) victim of racial discrimination. ACEs were grouped as 0-1 ACE exposure, and 2 or more ACE exposure.
Statistical Analysis We examined each ACE category stratified by race/ethnicity using a Chisquare test. The relationship between the ACE score and child flourishing was also analyzed using univariable analysis. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to determine the odds of a child flourishing when exposed to 0-1 ACEs versus 2 or more, adjusting for demographic, parental factors, and neighborhood characteristics. Statistical analyses were conducted using SAS 9.3 (SAS Institute, Cary NC).
Results Our cohort included 1,824 Delaware children between the ages of 0-17 years old of whom 70.1% were between the ages of 6 and 17, 57.7% were non-Hispanic white, and 68.5% were at or above 200% FPL. [Table 1]. Of the total population, 1,383 (75.8%) children had less than 2 ACE exposures and 371 had 2 or more. Among Delaware children who were exposed to 0-1 ACEs, prevalence of flourishing was at 61.2%. However, the prevalence decreased by about 20% for children exposed to 2 or more ACES, with only 41.0% of these children reported to be flourishing.
Table 1. Demographic characteristics of Delaware children 0-17 years old, National Survey of Children’s Health, 2011-2012 (N=1,824). Total N (%)
Flourishing Measure Not Met (%)
Flourishing Measure Met (%)
0-5
497
21.5
78.5
6-17
1278
51.4
48.6
White, NH
1053
39.5
60.5
Black, NH
275
52.7
47.3
Hispanic
198
45.5
54.6
Other
204
44.1
55.9
Below 200% FPL
525
40.1
59.9
At or above 200% FPL
1250
40.1
59.9
0-1 ACEs
1383
38.8
61.2
2 or more ACEs
371
59.0
41.0
Age (years)
Race/Ethnicity
% Federal Poverty Level (FPL)
Number of ACEs
59
Table 2. Factors Associated with Child’s Flourishing among Delaware Children, National Survey of Children’s Health, 2011-2012. AOR (95% CI)
p-value
ACE Exposure 0-1 ACE
1.00 [Reference]
2 or more ACEs
0.65 (0.48 - 0.86)
0.003
Age (years) 0-5
1.00 [Reference]
6-17
0.27 (0.21 - 0.36)
<.0001
Race/Ethnicity White, Non-Hispanic
1.00 [Reference]
Black, Non-Hispanic
0.61 (0.44 - 0.84)
0.012
Hispanic
0.96 (0.66 - 1.39)
0.327
Other/Multi-racial
0.83 (0.58-1.18)
0.974
Income At or above 200% FPL
1.00 [Reference]
Below 200% FPL
0.95 (0.72 - 1.26)
0.716
Parental Health Poor Emotional/Physical Health
1.00 [Reference]
Excellent Emotional/ Physical Health
1.68 (1.31 - 2.16)
<.0001
Parental Stress Never/Rarely
1.00 [Reference]
Usually/Always
4.44 (2.90 - 6.81)
<.0001
No
1.03 (0.78 -1.35)
0.838
Yes
1.00 [Reference]
Neighborhood Risks
Neighborhood Amenities No
1.00 [Reference]
Yes
1.24 (0.97 - 1.58)
0.083
Neighborhood Supports No
1.00 [Reference]
Yes
1.28 (0.92 - 1.77)
0.147
Neighborhood Safety No
1.00 [Reference]
Yes
1.72 (1.17 - 2.52)
0.005
AOR, adjusted odds ratio; CI, confidence interval; UOR, unadjusted odds ratio; FPL, Federal Poverty Level.
60 Delaware Journal of Public Health DECEMBER 2016
Factors Associated with Child’s Flourishing In multivariable analyses, child flourishing showed the strongest decrease with the following: exposure to 2 or more ACEs (AOR 0.65, 95% CI 0.48 – 0.86), Black, non-Hispanic (AOR 0.61, 95% CI 0.44 – 0.84), and older child age (AOR 0.27, 95 % CI 0.21 – 0.36) [Table 2]. There was no significant association between household income and child flourishing. All parental factors impacted flourishing. Children of parents with excellent overall health (AOR 1.68, 95% CI 1.31 – 2.16)) and limited parental stress (AOR 4.44, 95% CI 2.90 – 6.81) were more likely to flourish. While all neighborhood factors increased the odds of a child flourishing, neighborhood safety had the most significant impact on flourishing. Children who lived in safer neighborhoods were more likely to flourish than children or their caregivers reported feeling unsafe (AOR 1.72 95% CI 1.17 – 2.52).
Discussion The present study adds to the emerging literature on the impact ACEs have on child health outcomes, and goes further in identifying protective factors that can help children thrive even in the context of ACEs exposure. As few as two adverse childhood experiences was significantly associated with a child’s ability to flourish. Parental well-being and neighborhood factors play an important role in determining flourishing amongst children. Children with ACE exposure who flourished were significantly more likely to have parents with excellent physical and emotional health, parents who were less stressed, and those who lived in a safe neighborhood. Early and regular screening of children for ACE exposure could help identify those who may be in need of interventions to promote flourishing. Routine screening of children for ACE exposure positions primary care providers to intervene and assist families with leveraging family and neighborhood strengths specific to their needs. While many providers may not feel comfortable asking families questions related to childhood trauma and adversity and families may be reluctant to share sensitive information, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) provides guidelines to help pediatric practices effectively create a medical home that addresses ACEs (Cohen, Kelleher, & Mannarino, 2008). Approaching the new process as a quality improvement activity provides a foundation for implementation and evaluation (Cohen, Kelleher, & Mannarino, 2008). If children have a medical home that is nonjudgmental, supportive, and able to connect them to services, they have a better opportunity to flourish despite their exposure to adversity. The results of the study also showed that children whose parents had excellent overall health and experienced less stress were more likely to flourish. Research shows that parental mental health has a significant impact on parenting, especially parents who also experienced childhood trauma (Banyard, Williams, & Siegel, 2003). There are several evidence based interventions that focus on relationship-based approaches to improve parenting skills and help parents buffer the impact of trauma has on their children (Harden, 2015). Early Head Start, child care, and child welfare programs could integrate these evidence-based programs into their current service delivery to improve parental mental health (Harden, 2015). Child flourishing is not only impacted by the environment set by their parents in the home but also by community factors outside the home such as neighborhood safety. An extensive body of literature suggests
that there is a strong association between neighborhood safety and health outcomes (Baum, Ziersch, Zhang, & Osborne, 2009; Macintyre & Ellaway, 2000; Chandola, 2001; Ziersch, Baum, MacDougall, & Putland, 2005). One study explored the relationship between social cohesion and perceived neighborhood safety; people who lived in supportive neighborhoods tend to perceive their neighborhood as being safer (De Jesus, Puleo, Shelton, & Emmons, 2010). Interventions that focus on building a sense of cohesion among residents may be most beneficial in improving the perception of neighborhood safety, which could help to improve health and wellbeing. A limitation in the present study related to the use of cross-sectional data is the inability to infer causality between the identified inhibitors/ promoters of child flourishing. For example, it is possible that families with a child who is flourishing are more likely to engage in a practice that has a patient centered medical home, or to view their current practice as a patient centered medical home. Future research involving a longitudinal study could provide opportunities to test causal mechanisms. Despite limitations, the NSCH captured rich information on both ACEs exposure and measures of community assets. The data also included several health indicators and indexes such as child flourishing. This information can help researchers identify factors that could serve to moderate the risk of ACE exposure, or enhance resilience. In conclusion, ACEs exposure does not render health systems, parents and communities helpless. Even though child well-being decreases as the number of ACE exposures increase, there are things public health professionals and healthcare providers we can do. The data suggest practical and specific investments that health care systems and communities can take to enhance child well-being even in the context of cumulative ACE exposure. Implementing family intervention strategies, screening children early in the pediatric setting, connecting parents to mental health care, and enhancing social networking and supports in communities are strategies with promise to prevent long term adverse health outcomes among children exposed to adverse and traumatic events.
Acknowledgments This study was supported by an Institutional Development Award (IDeA) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under grant number U54-GM104941 (PI: Binder-Macleod). References 2011/12 National Survey of Children’s Health. (2013). Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative (CAHMI), 2011-2012 NSCH: Child Health Indicator and Subgroups SAS Codebook, Version 1.0. Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health, sponsored by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau. Retrieved from http://childhealthdata.org/docs/nsch-docs/ spsscodebook_-2011_2012_nsch_v1_all.pdf. Anda, R.F., Whitfield, C.L., Felitti, V.J., Chapman, D., Edwards, V.J., Dube, S.R. & Williamson, D.F. (2002). Adverse Childhood Experiences, Alcoholic Parents, and Later Risk of Alcoholism and Depression. Psychiatric Services, 53(8):1001–1009. Anda, R.F., Brown D.W., Dube S.R., Bremner J.D., Felitti V.J., & Giles W.H. (2008) Adverse childhood experiences and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in adults. American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 34(5): 396-403. Balistreri, K.S. (2015). Adverse Childhood Experiences, the Medical Home, and Child Well-Being. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 19 (11): 2492-500. Banyard, V. L., Williams, L. M., & Siegel, J. A. (2003). The impact of complex trauma and depression on parenting: An exploration of mediating risk and protective factors. Child Maltreatment, 8(4), 334–349. doi:10.1177/1077559503257106. Baum FE, Ziersch AM, Zhang G, Osborne K (2009).Do perceived neighborhood cohesion and safety contribute to neighborhood differences in health? Health & Place, 15(4):925–934. Bethell, C. D., Newacheck, P., Hawes, E., & Halfon, N. (2014). Adverse Childhood Experiences: Assessing the Impact on Health and School Engagement and the Mitigating Role of Resilience. Health Affairs, 33(12), 2106-2115. doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2014.0914.
Brown, D.W., Anda, R.A., Tiemeier, H., Felitti, V.J., Edwards, V.J., Croft, J.B. & Giles, W.H. (2009). Adverse childhood experiences and the risk of premature mortality. American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 37(5):389-396. Chandola T. (2001). The fear of crime and area differences in health. Health & Place, 7:105–116. Chapman, D. P., Whitfield, C. L., Felitti, V. J., Dube, S. R., Edwards, V. J., & Anda, R. F. (2004). Adverse childhood experiences and the risk of depressive disorders in adulthood. Journal of Affective Disorders, 82(2): 217–225. Cohen, J. A., Kelleher, K. J., & Mannarino, A. P. (2008). Identifying, treating, and referring traumatized children. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 162(5), 447. doi:10.1001/ archpedi.162.5.447. De Jesus, M., Puleo, E., Shelton, R. C., & Emmons, K. M. (2010). Associations between Perceived Social Environment and Neighborhood Safety: Health Implications. Health & Place, 16(5), 1007–1013. Dong, M., Giles, W.H., Felitti, V.J., Dube, S.R., Williams, J.E., Chapman, D.P., & Anda, R.F. (2004). Insights into Causal Pathways for Ischemic Heart Disease: Adverse Childhood Experiences Study, Circulation, 110:1761–176. Dube, S. R., Felitti, V. J., Dong, M., Chapman, D. P., Giles, W.H., & Anda, R. F. (2003). Childhood abuse, neglect and household dysfunction and the risk of illicit drug use: The adverse childhood experience study. Pediatrics, 111(3), 564–572 Felitti, V. J., Anda, R. F., Nordenberg, D., Williamson, D. F., Spitz, A. M., Edwards, V., . . . Marks, J. S. (1998). Relationship of Childhood Abuse and Household Dysfunction to Many of the Leading Causes of Death in Adults. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 14(4), 245-258. doi:10.1016/s0749-3797(98)00017-8. Felitti V. (2009). Adverse childhood experiences and adult health. Academic Pediatrics, 9:131-132. Gilbert, L.K., Breiding, M.J., Merrick, M.T., Parks, S.E., Thompson, W.W., Dhingra, S.S. & Ford, D.C. (2015). Childhood adversity and adult chronic disease: An update from ten states and the District of Columbia, 2010. American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 48(3):345-9. Harden, B. J. (2015). Services for Families of Infants and Toddlers Experiencing Trauma: A Research-to-Practice Brief. Brief prepared for the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Kelly-Irving, M., Lepage, B., Dedieu, D., Bartley, M., Blane, D., Grosclaude, P., et al. (2012). Adverse childhood experiences and premature all-cause mortality. European Journal of Epidemiology, 28(9), 721–734. Kerker, B. D., Zhang, J., Nadeem, E., Stein, R. E. K., Hurlburt, M. S., Heneghan, A., … McCue Horwitz, S. (2015). Adverse childhood experiences and mental health, chronic medical conditions, and development in young children. Academic Pediatrics, 15(5), 510–517. doi:10.1016/j. acap.2015.05.005. Macintyre S, Ellaway A. (2000). Ecological approaches: Rediscovering the role of the physical and social environment. In: Berkman LF, Kawachi I, editors. Social epidemiology. New York: Oxford University Press. 332–348 Perez, N. M., Jennings, W. G., Piquero, A. R., & Baglivio, M. T. (2016). Adverse childhood experiences and suicide attempts: The mediating influence of personality development and problem behaviors. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 45(8), 1527–1545. doii:10.1007/s10964-016-0519-x. Williamson, D.F., Thompson, T.J., Anda, R.F., Dietz, W.H. & Felitti, V.J. (2002). Body weight, obesity, and self-reported abuse in childhood. International Journal of Obesity, 26:1075–1082. Ziersch AM, Baum FE, MacDougall C, Putland C. (2005). Neighborhood life and social capital: The implications for health. Social Science & Medicine, 60(1):71–86. Dana Thompson, M.P.H. is a Research Associate for the Center for Women’s, Infants’, and Children’s Health Research at Christiana Care Health System. She is also the Project Manager for the Delaware Birth Defects and Autism Surveillance Registry Program. She received her B.S. in Community Health from Georgia Southern University and MPH in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from Drexel University. Dr. Iman Sharif is a pediatrician and health services researcher at Nemours/Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children. She is a graduate of the New York University School of Medicine, and completed residency training in Social Pediatrics at Monte ore Medical Center in the Bronx, NY. She has completed a fellowship in Health Disparities at the Bronx Center for Reducing and Eliminating Health Disparities (2006), earned a Master of Science in Clinical Research at Albert Einstein College of Medicine (2006), and a Master of Public Health degree at Columbia University (2009). She is Division Chief of General Pediatrics at Nemours and Lead for the Community Engagement and Outreach component of Delaware’s ACCEL Clinical Translational Research award. Aileen Fink, Ph.D. is the Director for Trauma Informed Care at the Delaware Children’s Department. In this role, she chairs the Department-wide Trauma Informed Steering Committee, provides consultation on trauma informed care throughout the Department, and has provided trauma informed care training both within the Children’s Department as well as to external partners. She has experience implementing trauma-specific treatment interventions with youth and their families, managing a trauma-focused grant, and supervising clinicians providing trauma-specific treatment. In addition to her work at the Children’s Department, Dr. Fink maintains a private clinical practice, is an Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of Delaware and serves as a reviewer for Clinical Practice in Pediatric Psychology and the Office of Justice Programs Online Database.
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Improving Behavioral Health Care for Delaware’s Children in Foster Care: A Public Health Imperative by Aileen D. Fink, Ph.D., Thomas I. Mackie, Ph.D., M.P.H., and Christopher Bellonci, M.D., D.F.A.A.C.A.P.
A
ccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC; 2014), child abuse and neglect is a “serious and prevalent” public health problem; the estimated life time cost associated with just one year of confirmed cases of abuse and neglect in the United States is approximately $124 billion dollars. While a relatively small percentage of children who come to the attention of child welfare systems will be placed in foster care, these children often enter care with unmet health care needs including significant behavioral health problems.
Over the past several years, heightened concern has been raised regarding the high number of children in foster care with behavioral health problems who are prescribed psychotropic medication(s) in ways that are not consistent with the best available evidence. For example, children in foster care are significantly more likely than other children (Medicaid and privately insured) to receive psychotropic medications (including antipsychotic medications) without concurrent evidence-based therapies. Although children in foster care are often high utilizers of health care services and disproportionately account for total health care spending, long term outcomes (health, education, employment, financial) are poor. Increasingly, federal and state efforts have focused on addressing the concerns outlined above including quality of psychotropic medication prescribing for children in foster care. It is helpful to consider a common set of goals in evaluating such efforts, such as the “Triple Aim”, originally put forward by Donald Berwick, MD, former Administrator of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (Berwick, Nolan, & Whittington, 2008). The Triple Aim framework emphasizes three goals for improvement of the healthcare delivery system: (1) to improve the individual experience of care, (2) to improve the health of populations, and (3) to reduce the per capita costs of care for populations. In this article, we consider the unique needs and opportunities that exist in Delaware to attain these goals in meeting the behavioral health needs of children in foster care.
Special Health Care Needs of Children in Foster Care In 2014, the population of children ages birth through eighteen removed from their family of origin and placed into foster care within the United States was approximately 415,000 (point prevalence; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2015). Removal of a child from her or his family most frequently occurs as a result of an imminent threat to child safety because of abuse and/or neglect (Conn et al., 2013). Children in foster care may be placed in a variety of settings whether family foster care, congregate care, or court-ordered or formal kinship care (extended family or kin). It is well documented that children in the United States involved with the child welfare system have significant physical and behavioral health care needs; almost 90% have at least one physical health problem (Leslie et al., 2005) and between 50% and 75% have at least one behavioral health problem for which behavioral health treatment is indicated (Burns et al., 2004; Landsverk, Burns, Stambaugh, & Rolls-Reutz, 2006). The high prevalence of behavioral health problems for children entering foster care is likely related to multiple factors including trauma exposure, genetic vulnerability to behavioral health disorders (given the high rates of these disorders in their parents) and increased intrauterine drug and alcohol exposure (Deutsch et al., 2015). Moreover, removal from the family of origin is also an emotionally traumatic event that may further compound preplacement adversities (Hillen & Gafson, 2015).
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Exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) such as those that bring children into contact with the child welfare system (e.g., abuse, neglect) have consistently been shown to increase rates of physical and mental health problems across the lifespan with high costs to individuals, families and communities (Edwards, 2003; McLaughlin, 2012; CDC, 2014). Children in foster care are not only more likely to experience behavioral health problems prior to age 18; they are also significantly more likely to experience persistent behavioral health challenges into adulthood after exiting care. One study which looked at alumni of foster care found that more than half of them (54.4%) had clinically significant symptoms of at least one mental health disorder (e.g., depression, anxiety, substance use) as adults with almost 20% experiencing three or more mental health problems (Northwest Foster Care Alumni Study, 2005). Concurrent with high rates of behavioral health problems, the study found that alumni of foster care compared with the general population of adults were significantly more likely to be unemployed (19.9% alumni vs. 5% general population), uninsured (nearly double the national average) and to experience homelessness (20%) after exiting foster care. The high rate of persistent behavioral health problems and the sobering statistics regarding lack of housing and financial stability for alumni of foster care underscores the critical need to ensure that child welfare systems develop strategies (e.g. targeted case management) to coordinate and address children’s behavioral health needs while they are in foster care.
Healthcare Service Utilization by Children in Foster Care Despite the well-established evidence of behavioral health needs for children in foster care, research consistently finds that these needs often go unmet. (Becker, Jordan, & Larsen, 2006). For example, Stahmer et al (2005) found that only one of four children received behavioral health care within 12 months of an initial contact with child welfare despite having evidence of significant behavioral health problems. A number of barriers potentially contribute to children in foster care not receiving needed behavioral health services. Although most children in foster care are categorically eligible for public insurance through Medicaid, challenges persist including lack of adequate screening, care coordination, and access to trauma-informed services. However, it is crucial that these barriers be addressed because without effective intervention, children in foster care are at increased risk for poor educational outcomes and contact with the justice system (Leathers, 2006). Early identification of behavioral health problems and access to evidence-based trauma-informed treatment services are core strategies to reduce these risks and promote health and wellbeing for children in foster care (Leathers, 2006; Kessler et al, 2008).
Medicaid claims analysis has indicated that as many as 50% of children in foster care who were prescribed a psychotropic medication had no concurrent claim for therapy despite clinical guidelines recommending medications not be used alone (Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS), 2013). Another Medicaid claims analysis found that only 28% of children in foster care prescribed antipsychotic medications received metabolic monitoring for both blood glucose and cholesterol despite clinical guidelines suggesting this be done as part of standard clinical care when antipsychotic medications are prescribed (Crystal et al., 2016).
medications at a significantly higher rate than their Medicaid-insured peers not in foster care (42% of children in foster care and 26% of other Medicaid-insured children; Rubin et al., 2012). The potential serious adverse effects (including weight gain, drowsiness, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, hyperprolactinemia and diabetes) associated with antipsychotic medications in combination with their increased use with children (including children under age six) has raised significant concerns (Harrison, 2012). Rubin (2012) examined different rates of antipsychotic medication prescribing across states for children in foster care, utilizing data from 2002-2007. The trends highlighted concerns regarding the prescribing of antipsychotic medications for Delaware children in foster care. Prescribing of antipsychotic medication for Delaware children in foster care increased to 12.2% in 2007 reflecting a 45.9% increase across this five-year time frame. Ranking of states based on change in prescribing over time placed Delaware as 13th in the country for highest increase in prescribing of antipsychotic medications. In addition, Delaware also had a higher rate of children on antipsychotic medications than the national average (11.8% of children in foster care).
In the past several years, national attention has focused specifically on the use of antipsychotic medications among children in foster care. In additional to the overall increase in use of psychotropic medications, there has been a dramatic growth over the last two decades in the use of antipsychotic medications, particularly
In the past several years, national attention has focused specifically on the use of antipsychotic medications among children in foster care.
Over the past decade, studies have documented concerns regarding the safe and judicious use of psychotropic medications for Medicaid-insured children in foster care. Compared to the general Medicaid-insured population of children, those in foster care are significantly more likely to be prescribed psychotropic medications and multiple medications concurrently as compared to other Medicaid-insured children. For example, children in foster care were up to 4 times more likely to be prescribed one or more psychotropic medications than Medicaid-insured children not in foster care (GAO, 2011). Of children in foster care prescribed at least one psychotropic medication, one state Medicaid analysis suggested 41% of Medicaid-insured children in foster care were prescribed three or more psychotropic medications within the same month (Zito et al, 2008). m Studies have also found that children in foster care receiving behavioral health services are less likely to receive high quality services (e.g. meeting best practice standards). For example,
While some percent of children in foster care who need health care services do not receive them, examination of utilization and cost data for those who do reveals disproportionately high medical service use and cost as compared to other Medicaid-insured populations. While children in foster care represent only 3% of all Medicaid-insured children nationally, they account for 15% of children receiving behavioral
the second generation antipsychotics also called â&#x20AC;&#x153;atypical antipsychoticsâ&#x20AC;? (e.g. risperidone, aripiprazole, quetiapine, olanzapine) for children and adolescents (Crystal et al., 2016). Children in foster care are prescribed antipsychotic
Figure 1 Figure 1: Mean Expense* for Medicaid-insured children in foster care vs. All Medicaid-insured Children (CHCS, 2013) Foster Care Children All Medicaid Children
$4,036
$8,094
$3,652 $4,868 $0
$5,000
Physical Health Care Expense
$12,130 $8,520.00
$10,000
$15,000
$20,000
Behavioral Health Expense
$25,000
$30,000
Total Spending
*Includes children with at least one claim for a behavioral health service in 2005 with or without concomitant *Includes children with at least one claim for a behavioral health service in 2005 with or without concomitant psychotropic medication use, N = 1,213,201 psychotropic medication use, N = 1,213,201
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health services and 29% of total behavioral health expenditure (CHCS, 2014). Differences in spending are in part due to the fact that compared to Medicaid-insured children not in foster care, those in foster care are less likely to receive community-based and evidence-based treatment services and are more likely to receive deep-end services like inpatient psychiatric treatment (Grimes, 2011). Children in foster care have the highest mean annual costs for behavioral health services compared to any other categorically-eligible Medicaid group (e.g. TANF, SSI/Disability) as well as a higher mean cost for combined physical and behavioral health care (CHCS, 2013). Figure 1 below modified from the 2013 CHCS Faces of Medicaid Study provides mean expense data for physical, behavioral health and total spending. The review above highlights the challenges that our public health systems confront in ensuring access, quality, and value of behavioral health service delivery for children in foster care. The majority of children in foster care present with behavioral health concerns and could benefit from improved access to evidencebased and trauma-informed services but few will receive these services in a timely manner suggesting the need to enhance access. Current research on psychotropic medication use patterns for children in foster care also suggests challenges in aligning behavioral health services with clinical guidelines for psychotropic medication treatment among children, suggesting the need to enhance the quality of services provided. While a small percentage of children receiving behavioral health services (therapy and/or medication) are in foster care, these children account for a disproportionately high percent of the overall behavioral health spending suggesting the need for systems to develop strategies to ensure value while improving access and quality.
(e.g., drug utilization reviews), as well as psychiatric consultation programs for primary care providers, particularly targeted to nonpsychiatrist prescribers (Mackie, Hyde, Palinkas, Niemi, & Leslie, 2016). For example, a 2015 review found that 31 states had implemented prior authorization for antipsychotic medication prescribing for Medicaid-insured children (Schmid, Burcu, & Zito, 2015). Another national study found that 45 of the 50 states and DC had at least one psychotropic oversight mechanism in place for children in foster care; these were implemented not only by Medicaid agencies but also state and county child welfare departments, state mental health entities, managed care organizations, and the judiciary (Mackie et al., 2016). In addition, professional organizations have promoted practice parameter guidelines. In 2015, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) (AACAP, 2015) issued best practice parameter recommendations for children involved in public service systems, including child welfare.
Delaware’s Response In 2014, the Delaware General Assembly established the Task Force on the Health of Children in Foster Care (hereafter referred to as the “Task Force”) to examine the health of children in foster care, their access to and utilization of health services and to provide recommendations for enhancing health care service delivery for children in foster care. As a core strategy, the Task Force utilized analysis of claims data from fiscal years
To address these challenges, a number of strategies have been adopted by federal and state systems. These include approaches employed prior to dispensing the medication (e.g., secondary review as part of an informed consent process, prior authorization implemented by Medicaid) and after dispensing the medication 64 Delaware Journal of Public Health DECEMBER 2016
2013 and 2014 for all Medicaid-insured children in Delaware (comparing those in foster care with those not in care). Key findings from the analysis included the following: • Compared with Medicaid-insured children not in foster care, those in foster care had higher rates of behavioral health services (20% vs. 60%, respectively). • More than half of all claims for Medicaidinsured children in foster care were for behavioral health services. Figure 2 below (Center for Community Research and Service, 2015) shows the percentages of children in foster care who received selected services (n=1,485) compared with non-foster children (n=124,667) in the Delaware Medicaid program during the review period. The Task Force also examined claims for psychotropic medication and found that within that two-year period, 40% of Medicaid-insured children in foster care had been prescribed at least one psychotropic medication with almost 25% being prescribed three or more medications at some time during the two-year period. As indicated in Figure 3 at right, the average per child cost of prescriptions among Medicaidinsured children in foster care was approximately three times that of children not in foster care ($2,139 vs. $752, respectively) during the two-year period. Notably, the majority of the difference was accounted for by the costs of psychotropic medications. See Figure 3 at right.
are placed in foster care. The goals of the original workgroup were expanded to incorporate three interrelated strategies: 1. Engage key stakeholders including children, caregivers, prescribers, health care providers etc. to (a) gather input from stakeholders regarding their perspectives and concerns related to psychotropic medication, (b) communicate information including Delaware data and best practice guidelines and parameters and (c) develop materials and resource links for stakeholders;
Figure 3. Mean Cost of Prescription Medication for Medicaid-insured Children by Placement type
In May, 2015, the Task Force provided a report to the Delaware General Assembly outlining a number of recommendations to improve the quality of care for Delawareâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s children in foster care. The recommendations were organized into four main categories; (1) screening, (2) access to care, (3) coordination of care and (4) use of data. Specifically, the Task Force recommended promotion of routine health screening, with integration of physical and behavioral health assessments and treatment plans, as well as improvements in access to traumainformed services. In response to the pattern of psychotropic medication prescribing for children in foster care, the Task Force recommended implementation of a psychotropic medication monitoring program. Finally, it recommended the state implement ongoing data collection and monitoring of health care service delivery for children in foster care. The Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families (DSCYF) is the state agency legislatively mandated to provide an array of services (behavioral health, juvenile justice and child welfare) to Delawareâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s children and families. The Division of Family Services, (DFS) is the agency that provides child welfare services including investigation, treatment, foster care and adoption. Between 2013 and 2014, DFS began implementing a series of strategies related to psychotropic medication use for children in foster care. First, a workgroup was formed to increase
understanding of the current practices around psychotropic medication prescribing. The workgroup examined the national prevalence data and best practice standards and approaches and also initiated data collection and analyses of psychotropic medication prescribing patterns for children in foster care to inform quality improvement initiatives. Second, a unit was established with responsibility for conducting behavioral health screening and consultation for all children entering foster care. Third, DFS established a contract with a pharmacy consultant to begin reviewing the psychotropic medication prescribing for children entering foster care in addition to engaging and providing consultation for prescribers where the medication plan was not aligned with best practice parameters (e.g. National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) Safe and Judicious Antipsychotic Use in Children and Adolescents; NCQA, 2014).17 It is important to note that these reviews have found that many Delaware children have already been prescribed psychotropic medication prior to entering foster care. In late 2014, DSCYF applied for and received a Casey Family Programs technical assistance grant which provided support for DSCYF to work with consultants at Tufts Medical Center and Rutgers University, national experts in the area of best practices for the use of psychotropic medication for children including those who
2. Ensure a meaningful informed consent process so that children and their families are provided education regarding the diagnosis and proposed treatment and monitoring plan and the risks and benefits of any medications as well as options for alternative or complementary treatments before they give their consent for a medication trial; and 3. Establish a routine mechanism to collect, monitor and disseminate data on psychotropic medication utilization for children in care. The workgroup has made significant progress in attaining each of the goals outlined above. This progress is due in large part to partnerships with the Task Force as well as the Delaware Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance, local managed care organizations, and Nemours Health and Prevention Services (a healthcare delivery system that provides comprehensive health assessment for the majority of children entering foster care). In support of the first goal, to enhance stakeholder engagement, the workgroup conducted focus groups and surveys of children, caregivers and prescribers. Based on the feedback from stakeholders, the group developed resource materials, designed specifically to increase awareness of best practices for informed and shared decision-making regarding psychotropic medication use among parents, relative caregivers and foster parents. Findings also informed the development of a Department-level policy regarding the use of psychotropic medication, which is expected to be accompanied by additional information and resources available through the Departmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website. The workgroup is also in the process of developing a webinar on psychotropic medication for Department case managers.
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To attain the second goal regarding a meaningful informed consent process for all children in foster care, the workgroup created a consent form designed to ensure engagement of children and families which will be piloted for foster care children receiving services through Nemours. Based on the pilot, the workgroup anticipates broadening the use of the form by promoting its use by department contracted providers. The workgroup incorporated language regarding meaningful informed consent in its draft medication policy and has recommended the addition of language in departmental contracts regarding expectations for active participation of children and families in medication service delivery. Resources developed by the workgroup described above include information for families regarding the core components of the informed consent process to support caregivers’ ability to advocate for meaningful participation in decision making. The final goal of the workgroup is to improve the use of data to inform systems improvements. The workgroup has developed a proposal for psychotropic medication information screens to be developed into the DSCYF management information system. These screens will facilitate the collection and tracking of psychotropic medication data (including monitoring for trends in prescribing) as well as aligning the medication consultation to be consistent with the best practice parameters.
Conclusion Delaware has adopted a multipronged approach to addressing the issue of health for children in foster care with the ultimate goal of child and family-centered, cost-effective, quality service delivery. Efforts have been implemented both within the child welfare system as well as across systems that serve these children in care. The Division of Family Services has implemented trauma-informed behavioral health screening and consultation to ensure that children who need behavioral health services are identified and connected to effective, evidencebased treatment. The contracted pharmacy consultant service provides review of all medications prescribed for children in foster care and delivers targeted consultation for medication plans that aren’t aligned with best practice parameters. The plan to implement updated screens within the management information system will also support ensuring that medication services (type of medication, dosage, laboratory
studies) are consistent with the highest standards of care. The Department has also worked to build collaborative relationships with systems that also serve children in foster care. The work with Nemours to enhance coordination of care (including ensuring communication of behavioral health screening results) and ensure informed consent by children and their families highlights an example of cross-system partnerships that also meet the goals outlined in the triple aim. The efforts outlined above are essential to the state’s commitment to ensure that all children in foster care receive high quality, cost effective services to promote their immediate and long term health and wellbeing.
Acknowledgements The authors would like to acknowledge the generous support of Casey Family Programs and the collaboration and support from Casey staff Jenny Kenyon Gentry and Paul DiLorenzo. The work outlined in this article (supported by a twoyear technical assistance contract) involved staff from DSCYF including Shirley Roberts, Trenee Parker, Heather Alford, Sally Barker, Kim Warren, Vicky Kelly, John Bates, Richard Margolis, Mary Diamond, Darryl Dawson, DSCYF contractors Diane Disabatino, Thomas Wolters and Whitney Swears and community partners Cathy Zorc and Eliza Hirst. The authors also appreciate the tireless effort of the Task Force on the Health of Children in Foster Care in the commissioning of the health care data described in this article under the leadership of Taskforce co-chairs Drs. Vicky Kelly and Cathy Zorc. A copy of the Task Force full report can be found at https://www.sppa.udel.edu/ccrs/ publications/search-all-publications/search-all-ccrspublications/395.
chi.0000127590.95585.65 Center for Community Research and Services, University of Delaware. (2015). Report to the Delaware Task Force on the Health of Children in Foster Care. Retrieved from https://www.sppa.udel.edu/ccrs/publications/search-allpublications/search-all-ccrs-publications/395 Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS). (2013, December 2013). Faces of Medicaid: Examining Children’s Behavioral Health Service Utilization and Expenditures. Retrieved from http://www.chcs.org/resource/infographicfaces-of-medicaid-childrens-behavioral-health-care/ Center for Healthcare Strategies. (2014). Children in Foster Care: Behavioral Health Care Use in Medicaid. Retrieved from http://www.chcs.org/resource/children-foster-carebehavioral-health-care-use-medicaid/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2014). Cost of Child Abuse and Neglect Rival Many Other Major Public Helath Problems. Retrieved from Atlanta, GA: http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/ childmaltreatment/EconomicCost.html Conn, A.-M., Szilagyi, M. A., Franke, T. M., Albertin, C. S., Blumkin, A. K., & Szilagyi, P. G. (2013). Trends in child protection and out-of-home care. Pediatrics, 132(4), 712-719. Crystal, S., Mackie, T., Fenton, M. C., Amin, S., NeeseTodd, S., Olfson, M., & Bilder, S. (2016). Rapid Growth Of Antipsychotic Prescriptions For Children Who Are Publicly Insured Has Ceased, But Concerns Remain. Health Affairs, 35(6), 974-982. Deutsch, S. A., Lynch, A., Zlotnik, S., Matone, M., Kreider, A., & Noonan, K. (2015). Mental Health, Behavioral and Developmental Issues for Youth in Foster Care. Curr Probl Pediatr Adolesc Health Care, 45(10), 292-297. Edwards, V. J., Holden, G. W., Felitti, V. J., Anda, R. F. (2003). Relationship Between Multiple Forms of Childhood Maltreatment and Adult Mental Health in Community Respondents: Results From the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 160(8), 1453-1460. doi:http://dx.doi. org/10.1176/appi.ajp.160.8.1453 Government Accountability Office (GAO). (2011). HHS guidance could help states improve oversight of psychotropic
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Aileen Fink, Ph.D. is the Director for Trauma Informed Care at the Delaware Children’s Department. In this role, she chairs the Departmentwide Trauma Informed Steering Committee, provides consultation on trauma informed care throughout the Department, and has provided trauma informed care training both within the Children’s Department as well as to external partners. She has experience implementing trauma-specific treatment interventions with youth and their families, managing a traumafocused grant, and supervising clinicians providing trauma-specific treatment. In addition to her work at the Children’s Department, Dr. Fink maintains a private clinical practice, is an Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of Delaware and serves as a reviewer for Clinical Practice in Pediatric Psychology and the Office of Justice Programs Online Database. Tom Mackie, Ph.D., M.P.H., is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Health Systems and Policy at the Rutgers School of Public Health and core faculty at the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research at Rutgers University. His research has been published in a variety of peer reviewed journals, such as Health Affairs, Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, and Social Science and Medicine.
monitoring mechanisms. Administration and Policy in
Dr. Christopher Bellonci is a psychiatrist in Boston, Massachusetts and is affiliated with Tufts Medical Center. He received his medical degree from University of Texas Medical School and has been in practice for more than 20 years. He is one of 40 doctors at Tufts Medical Center who specialize in Psychiatry.
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Adverse childhood experiences negatively impact health behaviors and chronic disease risk among adults residing in Delaware Caprice A. Torrance, M.H.A. 1Kimberly Williams, M.P.H. 1Elizabeth Brown,
1
M.D. 2Kirsten Olson, 2Andrea Miller, 2Leslie Newman, 1Mia A Papas, Ph.D. 1 Value Institute, Christiana Care Health System, Newark, DE 2 Children and Families First, Wilmington, DE
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), which include factors such as being a victim of violence, emotional or physical neglect, or growing up under a caregiver struggling with serious mental illness or substance abuse, interfere with a childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s social, emotional, and behavioral development (Felitti et al., 1998). A sobering array of diminished adulthood outcomes associated with ACEs are well-documented and include poorer academic and professional achievement; more mental health conditions like PTSD, anxiety, depression, and suicide; and serious diseases that shorten lives by twenty years (Brown et al., 2009; Chapman et al., 2004). ACEs are pervasive in our community: more than two-thirds of the United States population has experienced at least one, and there is a dose-response relationship between ACEs and adverse health outcomes (Anda et al., 2006), making toxic childhood stress a major public health concern. Although ACEs are associated with negative health outcomes, recent neuroscience research has demonstrated that brains are malleable well into adulthood (Fuchs & FlĂźgge, 2014) and there is research suggesting that those impacted by toxic stress can recover through interventions that build skills and resilience (Luthar, 2006). National ACE data has demonstrated differences in the prevalence of ACE severity (as measured by having 4 or more ACEs), as well as differences in the distribution of specific ACEs across socio-demographic groups (CDC, 2009). For example, older populations (aged 55 years or greater) experience fewer ACEs when compared to younger populations (aged 18 to 54). The low prevalence in older age groups is an indication of an increased risk for premature mortality among those who experience ACEs. Understanding the distribution of ACEs within communities is critical for the implementation of effective primary and secondary prevention efforts aimed at improving the health and wellbeing of adults and families. The current investigation examines the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences in Delaware among adults aged 18 years or greater. We hypothesize that: 1) ACEs will be common in Delaware, especially among women, and those with low-income, low education and race/ethnic minorities and 2) ACEs will be associated with an increased prevalence of chronic disease and poor health behaviors.
Methods Survey Methods The 2015 Delaware Household Health Survey (DHHS) was conducted using a representative, random sample of 2,609 households located in all three counties within the State of Delaware. Landline and cellular telephone interviews were completed with a household member who was at least 18 years of age. Interviews were administered in both English and Spanish. The overall response rate was 27.8%. Survey data collected included demographic characteristics, personal health behaviors, health outcomes, access to care, preventive screenings, and adverse childhood experiences. Figure 1. Prevalence of having four or more adverse childhood experiences by zip code in Delaware.
68 Delaware Journal of Public Health DECEMBER 2016
Measures Demographic Characteristics Within the current investigation, demographic characteristics examined included age, sex, race/ethnicity, and education. Age was categorized into four groups: 18-34, 35-49, 50-64, and 65 years or older. Sex was categorized as female or male. Race was categorized into White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Other (including Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaska Native, Biracial or Multiracial, and Something else). Education was categorized into no high school diploma, high school graduate, any college (including technical, trade or vocational school after high school and some college (includes Associate’s degree)), and college graduate (including college graduate (B.S., B.A., or other four-year degree), post-graduate, or professional schooling after college).
Adverse Childhood Experiences The adverse childhood experiences survey included ten questions that deal with psychological abuse, physical abuse, contact sexual abuse, exposure to substance abuse, mental illness, violent treatment of mother or stepmother, criminal behavior in the household, parental separation or divorce, physical neglect, and emotional neglect. Respondents that answered “Yes” to any of these questions were defined as exposed to that adverse childhood experience. The 2015 DHHS also included two additional questions on discrimination and being bullied by a peer. For the discrimination question, any respondent that answered “Very often” or “Often” was defined as experiencing discrimination. For the bullied by a peer question, any respondent that answered “All of the time” or “Most of the time” was defined as being bullied.
Health Behaviors Health behaviors examined included cigarette smoking, other tobacco products, e-cigarettes (vapor), obesity, physical inactivity, sugar sweetened beverage intake, screen time, substance abuse and self-harm. We defined current cigarette smoker as a respondent who answered “Everyday” or “Some days” to “How often do you currently smoke cigarettes?” Current other tobacco product smoker was defined as a respondent that answered “Yes” to “Other than cigarettes, do you currently use any tobacco products, such as cigars, cigarillos, pipes, chew tobacco, bidis, kreteks, or any other tobacco product.” We defined current vaper as a respondent that answered “Once”, “A few times”, “Once per week”, “A few times per week”, and “Every day” to “In the past month, how many times have you used an e-cigarette (also known as vape pipes, vape pens, e-hookah, e-cigars.” Self-reported height and weight information were used to define obesity as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) greater than or equal to 30 kg/m2. Physical inactivity was defined as no participation in physical activity or exercise that makes you sweat or increases your heat rate for at least a half an hour. Soda/processed juice drinkers were those who reported consuming 1 or more soda and/or processed juices a day. Excessive television and/or computer time was defined as an average of 2 or more hours a day on their computer or television. Substance abuse was defined as being told by a doctor, other health professional, peer, a friend, or a loved one that they have or had a substance abuse problem. Finally, commit self-harm was defined as anyone who answered “Yes” to “During the past 12 months, was there ever a time you felt so sad or hopeless that you wanted to do something to purposely hurt yourself or end your life.”
Chronic Disease Six measures of chronic disease including both physical and mental health were examined. Individuals were classified as having asthma, diabetes, heart disease or hypertension if they responded yes to the question, “Have you EVER been told by a doctor or other health professional that you have or had the following conditions: Asthma, Diabetes (includes both gestational and non-gestational diabetes), Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure or Hypertension (includes both pregnancy and non-pregnancy induced hypertension).” Mental health and self -rated health status were also included in this investigation. Any respondents that answered “Yes” to “Have you ever been diagnosed with any mental health condition, including clinical depression, anxiety disorder or bipolar disorder” was classified as having a mental health condition and respondents that answered “Fair” or “Poor” to “Would you say that in general your health is excellent, very good, good, fair or poor” were classified as having poor self-rated health.
Statistical Analysis Descriptive statistics (including frequencies, means, standard deviations and ranges) were used to describe demographic characteristics of the population as well as adverse childhood experiences, health behaviors, and chronic disease. The bivariate association between ACE scores and demographic characteristics, health behaviors, and chronic disease were examined with the Pearson chi-square test. A series of logistic regression models were then fit to assess the odds of each outcome (health behaviors or chronic diseases) comparing those with no ACE exposure to those with 1, 2, 3 and 4 or more ACEs. ACE was included as a categorical variable and a test for trend was examined to investigate any dose-response effects between ACE and health behaviors or chronic disease. Race/ethnicity, gender, age, and educational attainment were all included as covariates in the model. All analyses were run using IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22. Complex survey analytic methods were employed in order to weight the results based on the overall adult population weight.
Results Of the 2,609 survey respondents, we excluded 194 respondents with missing data for the adverse childhood experiences survey leaving an analytic dataset of 2,415 respondents (92.6%). The mean age of the respondents was 48.6 years (range from 18 to 100 years old); 53.1% of the respondents were female; 71.3% were white; and 35.1% of respondents graduated from college with at least a four-year degree whereas 7.2% did not graduate high school.
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) The prevalence of adverse childhood experiences ranged from 4.6% to 31.8% depending on the particular experience as shown in Table 1. Parental separation or divorce (31.8%) and substance abuse (20.4%) were the most prevalent adverse childhood experiences whereas criminal behavior in the household (7.6%) and physical neglect (4.6%) were the least prevalent. Over half of the adults in Delaware, 55.1%, have been exposed to at least one adverse childhood experience and 13.2% have been exposed to severe adverse childhood experiences (4 or more). Additionally, when discrimination and bullying during childhood were examined, it was found that about 13.7% of the population experienced some form of discrimination and 6.6% had reported being bullied.
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Delaware CORE: Early Psychosis Prevention in the First State by Charles Webb Ph.D.a, Samantha Eklundb, M.C., Adina Seidenfeld Ph.D.c, Geeta Kotak M.S.W. a, Timothy Fowles, Ph.D.c a
Delaware Division of Prevention and Behavioral Health Services,
b
Psychotherapeutic Services Inc., c University of Delaware
Author note: This report was supported by a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA: 5H79SM061931) to the Delaware Division of Prevention and Behavioral Health Services. Please address correspondence to Charles Webb, 1825 Faukland Road, Delaware Division of Prevention and Behavioral Health Services, Wilmington, DE, 19805. Email: charles.webb@state.de.us
As few as 1 in 10 or as many as 1 in 4 adolescents experience at least one psychotic symptom in their lifetime (Kelleher, Jenner & Cannon, 2010). Fortunately, for most, “hearing things” or “odd beliefs” are transitory events, often triggered by a medical condition or drug use. For a small percentage, however, these symptoms constitute the early signs of a developing disorder. Lifetime prevalence for psychotic disorders depends on how broadly they are defined. Schizophrenia and schizophreniform are the disorders most commonly associated with psychosis and affect approximately 1% of the population (Sommer et al., 2016) with an annual incidence of 10-20 per 100,000 (Messias, Chen & Eaton, 2007). Prevalence increases (2-3%) when other non-affective disorders are included (e.g., brief psychosis, delusional disorder, and psychosis NOS) and grow to 3-5% when affective disorders with psychotic features are added to the count (van Os & Kapur, 2009). Most psychotic disorders onset between the ages of 15 and 35 (Kessler et al,, 2007). Their onset and course are typically broken in 3 phases: prodrome, episode and recovery. In “prodrome” (phase 1), symptoms are mild to moderate and seen by the individual as errors of perception or interpretation. The prodrome often marks the onset or worsening of symptoms, as well as declines in cognitive, social or occupational functioning (Sommer et al., 2016). In the “episode” (phase 2), positive symptoms, such as delusions, paranoia, or hallucination overwhelm the individual’s world view to the extent that she or he grows accepting of these new idiographic thoughts or perceptions with growing conviction. Episodes are associated with observable (i.e., with MRIs or PET Scans) neuroanatomical changes and further loss of functioning (McFarlane, 2002). Hospitalization and antipsychotics for reducing the intensity of symptoms are usually required to end an episode. In “recovery” (phase 3), affected individuals and their families deal with the residual deficits that originated during the prodrome and worsened during the episode. This phase is often prolonged and usually requires as many as 6 to 24 months before an individual has sufficient energy and recovered functioning to return to routine life (McFarlane, 2002). While this conceptualization of psychotic process is commonly shared, its implications for treatment are not. Clinical researchers disagree about when and in what phase to intervene. Most agree that treatment should follow as close on the heels of an episode as possible, the better to reduce 70 Delaware Journal of Public Health DECEMBER 2016
debilitating positive symptoms (e.g., delusions, paranoia, hallucinations) (Heinssen, 2014). Consequently, most early intervention programs in the United States target first episode psychosis (FEP). By contrast, researchers strongly disagree about whether to introduce secondary preventive strategies during the prodrome. Opponents of secondary prevention argue that current assessment batteries only predict about 1 in 3 cases of true developing psychosis and that this high “false positive” rate should prohibit professionals from unnecessarily stigmatizing people who will probably never convert (Zdanowicz et al., 2014). Proponents argue back that neglecting the one third who do convert has dire consequences. Schizophrenia is the eighth leading cause of disability in people 1544 (Schulze-Lutter, Ruhrmann & Klosterkotter, 2008) and evidence suggests that early intervention to address negative symptoms and functional deficits during the prodrome can reduce the risk of conversion (i.e., to psychosis). For those that do convert, prodromal intervention accelerates remission and reduces the risk of brain abnormalities and neurobiological changes (Zdanowicz et al., 2014). As for the high false positive rate, proponents observe that subthreshold prodromal symptoms are sufficiently disabling, in and of themselves, to warrant effective intervention (Zandowicz et al., 2014). This article describes the rationale and implementation strategy behind Delaware’s plan to develop a system of care for transitional age youth (ages 12-25) experiencing FEP or prodromal symptoms. The program is titled Community Outreach, Referral and Early Intervention or Delaware CORE (www.delawarecore.com).What follows is a description of federal funding, the service model, a brief account of some lessons learned during implementation, some administrative challenges, and plans for future evaluation.
Funding In 2014, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) launched two initiatives that focus on the mental health needs of transitional age youth. SAMHSA NITT HT Grant Program: In the wake of the Sandy Hook shootings in 2012, the Obama administration issued a 2013 proposal to reduce gun violence that included a directive to increase access to mental health and substance abuse services. SAMHSA seized on that directive in
2014 with a new program entitled Now Is the Time - Healthy Transitions (NITT-HT: www.whitehouse.gov/issues/preventing-gun-violence ). NITT-HT called upon states and the indigenous territories to expand and improve their systems for transitional age youth with, or at risk of having, serious mental illness. In response, Delaware proposed a statewide program for 16-25 year olds with early psychosis. The response was, in part, driven by visits recently paid by William McFarlane, M.D. to Delaware to discuss local implementation of an evidence-based model he had developed entitled the Portland Identification and Early Referral program (PIER). PIER had been recently replicated on a national sample of early FEP and clinically high-risk prodromal cases (RWJ, 2013). Delaware’s proposal lead to a 5-year $5 million award. Mental Health Block Grant Set-Aside: Also in 2014, Congress passed legislation requiring states to set aside 5% (increased to 10% in 2015) of their annual SAMHSA mental health block grant dispensation to fund evidence based services for youth and young adults with FEP. The legislation was, in part, a response to recent findings by the National Institutes of Health that Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC) for serious mental illness was a cost-effective treatment approach that could be transferred to community-based settings (www.medicaid.gov/federal-policyguidance/downloads/CIB-10-16-2015.pdf ). Delaware seized upon this new opportunity to broaden its projected age-range for FEP participants being served from 16-25 to 12-25.
The Service Model Description of PIER
PIER is grounded in a biosocial understanding of psychosis wherein vulnerabilities developing early in life (e.g., in utero, perinatal, early childhood) are manifested under stressful conditions and the neuroanatomical changes that come with young adulthood. PIER roundly rejects the now outdated premise that Schizophrenia is a failure to connect with a primary caregiver, but confirms that optimizing the home environment after the onset of symptoms can reduce stress, and delay or prevent the exacerbation or onset of symptoms. Family environments that do not catastrophize and blame, and instead maintain calm, and share the burden of caring for a member with illness are the ones most conducive to recovery (McFarlane, 2002). Much of PIER’s therapeutic weight rests on the keystone of the multifamily group. This foundational component dates back to research conducted in hospitals in the 1980s and 1990s showing that people with schizophrenia experience greater clinical improvement when they and their families are randomized to multifamily as opposed to single family therapy (McFarlane, 2002). McFarlane suggests that multifamily groups may offer a greater diversity of peers from which to choose, identify, problem solve and share resources. He also suggested that being in therapy with families struggling “in the same boat” promotes family-to-family learning, either directly (e.g., one mother advises another) or indirectly (e.g., one mother observes another). Finally, the multifamily group provides needed support and understanding for the isolated caregiver that is solely responsible for the care of a disabled relative (McFarlane, 2002). Another innovative aspect of PIER, embraced by Delaware, is the model’s inclusion of the prodrome as a viable target for secondary prevention. McFarlane and his team began exploring the use of multifamily groups with prodromal cases in 2001 (RWJ, 2013). By that time, a growing number of randomized controls had shown that a variety of
early interventions were not only preventing the onset of FEP but also accelerating recovery for clients that did have an episode (Van der Gaag, 2013). For identifying the prodrome, PIER comes equipped with an assessment called the Structured Interview for Psychosis-Risk Syndromes (SIPS) (Miller et al., 2003) designed to identify individuals with a 30-35% chance of converting to FEP within 2 years (Zdanowicz et al, 2014). It also includes guidelines for choosing medications that are symptom-focused, and least associated with stigma, and side effects (McFarlane, 2002). Most families referred to Delaware Core receive services in the following order: (a) prescreen, (b) assessment, (c) “joining sessions” in the home to introduce the social worker, team and program, (d) family psychoeducation meetings to learn about serious mental illness and staying healthy, and finally (e) a multifamily group that provides ongoing support and opportunities for collective problem solving. Psychiatric consultation, occupational therapy and supported education and employment are also available on an as-need basis. Typical lengths-of-stay in Delaware CORE run from 6 months to 2 years. The following case example, based on a client admitted to Delaware CORE, helps to demonstrate how these six components are typically delivered.
Case Example Prescreen: In late February, Delaware CORE received a referral from a counselor at a local high school about a student who had been experiencing blackouts for no apparent medical reason. After getting signed permission to contact the referral’s mother, a social worker conducted a phone screen two days later. Doing the phone screen, the mother reported changes in the way her 17-year-old son was “hearing things, expresses his emotions, his sense of touch.” She also disclosed that her son had some mental health history, was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome years ago, and currently took medication for anxiety. Prescreening did not rule out early prodromal symptoms or FEP. Thus, an assessment was scheduled for the following week. Assessment: One week after the prescreen, the social worker drove to the family’s home and administered the Structured Interview for Psychosis Syndrome (SIPS). The worker first interviewed the mother to get an overall picture of her son’s history (i.e., development, clinical history, family background) and status. The worker learned that the son was living with her, his stepfather and two stepsibling; and that both resident parents had been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. Next, the worker met alone with the son to ask questions about symptoms of psychosis and the recency and frequency of endorsed symptoms. The young man confirmed that he had experienced periodic blackouts in recent months. He also endorsed seeing shadows out of the corners of his eyes, hearing ringing in his ears, and hearing his name called when no one was around. These perceptual distortions had worsened in the past year and were beginning to affect his grades and interest in friends and family. After administration of the SIPS, the social worker told the family that she needed to talk to her clinical team before deciding whether the young man was eligible for CORE. When she tentatively scheduled some in-home meetings with the family over the next month, the mother cautioned that, if admitted, she did not want strange people showing up at her door. The worker reassured her that visits by other team members would be planned with her ahead of time.
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From the History & Archives Collection
Pictorial History of Psychology and Psychiatry Elizabeth E. Healy, M.P.H.
T
his month’s History and Archives section includes excerpts taken from A.A. Roback and Thomas Kiernan’s “A Pictorial History of Psychology and Psychiatry”. Originally published in 1969, this book is from the collection of the Delaware State Hospital. The first image depicts the conditions experienced by psychiatric patients in 18th century. Shunned by society and sent to live in state institutions, life was bleak for individuals with mental disorders during this time period. This particular image provides a window into life behind the walls of Bicêtre Hospital, in Paris, France. Bicêtre had a dark history riddled with instances of maltreatment inflicted upon its psychiatric patients. Patients were often shackled to walls and pipes, denied access to baths and restrooms, and were subjected to physical abuse and experimentation. Despite this reputation, Bicêtre Hospital also gained infamy for more positive events, particularly the location for the groundbreaking work of Dr. Phillipe Pinel (pictured above). It was at this hospital in 1793, where Dr. Pinel was credited as being the first physician to deliver humane treatment to the mentally ill. Today, Pinel’s humane approach is known as “moral therapy.” Additionally, Pinel is regarded by some as the “father of modern psychiatry” for his contributions in the classification of mental disorders.