Here is our article, that looked at Identifying Barriers, Service Options, and Strategies for urban and rural teams from the experience of eastern Ontario ACT teams. The lead for this was Andrea LeFebvre.
I hope this effort will help bring ACT teams together and perhaps others involved in other forms of community mental health service, for further dialogue on transition and recovery practices, what ever their community or system context is.
- Andrea M. LeFebvreEmail author
- Bill Dare
- Susan J. Farrell
- Gary S. Cuddeback
Transitions from Assertive Community Treatment Among Urban and Rural Teams: Identifying Barriers, Service Options, and Strategies
https://link.springer.com/arti...07/s10597-017-0162-3
Abstract
An emerging focus of Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams is the transition of clients to less intensive services, which creates space for individuals in need of ACT and is consistent with a recovery orientation of treatment. However, there is limited research on team transition rates, post-ACT services, and strategies to overcome transition barriers. In addition, few studies have examined differences in these factors among urban and rural ACT teams. To address these knowledge gaps, we interviewed eight ACT teams in urban and rural areas of eastern Ontario regarding their transition rates, processes of transitioning ACT clients to less intensive services, transition barriers, and solutions to overcoming these barriers. On average, teams transitioned about 6% of their clients over our 3-year study period. Urban and rural teams described both similar and distinct clinical and systemic barriers, such as client reluctance to transition and finding psychiatric follow-up outside of ACT. Implications for ACT practice and policy are discussed.
