Research from Fordham GSS Assistant Professor Elizabeth Matthews, Ph.D., emphasizes the potential positive impacts of colocated care on mental and physical outcomes in patients with serious mental illness (SMI) and chronic disease.
The article, titled “The Impact of Structural Integration on Clinical Outcomes among Individuals with Serious Mental Illness and Chronic Illness” and published in Community Mental Health Journal, analyzed data from 8,548 individuals with co-occurring SMI diabetes and 16,600 with an SMI and hypertension receiving care in community health centers (CHCs).
“Among those with diabetes or hypertension, colocated care was associated with better health outcomes related to HbA1c, blood pressure control, and BMI compared to less coordinated and unintegrated care, though there was significant variation in this relationship across SMI diagnoses,” the abstract reads.
Matthews’s study shows the importance of integrated care, specifically colocated care — offering mental and physical health services in the same place — on individuals’ primary and behavioral health.
“Results reflect that colocation of primary care and behavioral health may improve outcomes for individuals with bipolar disorder or major depression and chronic disease.”
Schizophrenia seemed to be the one caveat in the study: “…CHC-based integrated care may not be optimized for individuals with schizophrenia.”
