Projects & Impact

AHP has built its business on applying best practices, many of which we have helped to shape, and real-world, hands-on knowledge to improving systems and business practices for our clients.

In all of the work that we do, we are guided by our mission to improve health and human services systems of care and business operations to help organizations and individuals reach their full potential.

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Integrated Health Care for African Americans with Mental Illness who are Homeless

AHP is collaborating with the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) to develop, implement and pilot-test an integrated behavioral health and primary care intervention for homeless African Americans with mental illness. Funded by the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities, in this project, peer navigators—African Americans with lived experience of homelessness and behavioral health problems—connect homeless African Americans with mental illness to medical and mental health care, helping them “navigate” these complicated health systems. AHP and IIT are conducting a randomized controlled clinical trial examining the effectiveness of peer navigators in improving health outcomes for this vulnerable population.

Related resources and publications:

Corrigan, P.W., Pickett, S., Kraus, D., Burks, R., & Schmidt, A. (2015). Community-based participatory research examining the health care needs of African Americans who are homeless with mental illness. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 26(1), 119-133. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25702732.
Corrigan, P.W., Pickett, S.A., Batia, K., & Michaels, P.J. (2014). Peer navigators and integrated care to address ethnic health disparities. Social Work in Public Health, 29, 581-593. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25144699.

Agency:
National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHHD)

Project Director:
Susan A. Pickett, Ph.D. - View Bio

Impact:
Preliminary results suggest that project participants who worked with peer navigators had significant improvements in health functioning. Peer navigators may be a critical tool in helping homeless African Americans with mental illness access the integrated behavioral health and primary care services they need to address their complex health problems.

Technical Assistance to the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) Office of the Director

Over several contracts, AHP has conducted studies, provided analysis and technical advice, written papers and Reports to Congress, and reviewed CMHS business operations. In addition, AHP writers are the principal speech and blog writers for the CMHS Office of the Director. Speeches and blogs communicate SAMHSA’s vision, mission, and priorities as they relate to the development of a person-centered, recovery-focused, evidence-based, and quality-driven system of behavioral health care. Speeches are prepared for national meetings and conventions, state and community organizations, national and international policymaking groups, and congressional committees.

AHP’s accomplishments in support of the CMHS Office of the Director are both broad and deep. For example, AHP:

Wrote Reports to Congress on borderline personality disorder and certified community behavioral health clinics;
Provided insight into the evolving research and policy surrounding the social determinants of mental health;
Helped assess the evidence base for the effectiveness of selected behavioral health treatments;
Examined states’ priorities vis-a-vis health reform;
Reviewed crisis support programs for people with behavioral health conditions;
Examined employment of individuals with behavioral health disorders who have criminal justice involvement;
Conducted an examination of patient activation for behavioral health;
Developed CMHS program profiles;
Helped develop materials related to the prevention of mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders;
Examined the relationship of maternal health and child behavioral health outcomes; and
Analyzed the extent to which the landmark Supreme Court decision in Olmstead v. L.C. is working for Americans with disabilities, including those with mental and substance use disorders.

Related resources and publications:

Report to Congress on Borderline Personality Disorder

Agency:
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

Project Director:
- View Bio

Impact:
AHP helps SAMHSA articulate its mission, vision, and values to ensure that SAMHSA remains at the forefront of efforts to create person-centered, recovery-focused, evidence-based, and quality-driven services for people with mental health and substance use conditions.