Market Factors Associated with Comprehensive Behavioral Health Crisis Care Availability: A Resource Dependence Theory Study

• Published in: Inquiry (Chicago) 2024-01, Vol.61, p.469580241256822
• Main Authors: Burns, Ashlyn, Vest, Joshua R, Menachemi, Nir, Mazurenko, Olena, Salyers, Michelle P, Yeager, Valerie A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Crisis Intervention - statistics & numerical data; Health Services Accessibility - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Mental Disorders - therapy; Mental Health Services - statistics & numerical data; Original; Substance-Related Disorders - epidemiology; United States; United States Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
• ISSN: 1945-7243; 0046-9580; 1945-7243
• DOI: 10.1177/00469580241256822

Behavioral health crisis care (BHCC) is a care delivery model for individuals experiencing acute distress related to a mental health or substance use disorder. We examined market factors associated with comprehensive BHCC availability using 2022 data on mental health treatment facilities (n = 9385) obtained from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. We aggregated facility-level data by county (n = 3142) and merged with county-level market factors. Logistic regression models were used to examine the adjusted associations between market factors and BHCC availability. We found that 468 (14.9%) counties had at least one mental health treatment facility offering comprehensive BHCC services. Specifically, counties with more mental health providers (Adjusted Odds Ratio = 2.26, Confidence Interval = 1.32-3.86) and metropolitan counties (AOR = 3.26, CI = 1.95-5.43) had higher odds of having a comprehensive BHCC facility. Our findings highlight the importance of developing the mental health workforce to increase BHCC availability and a need to address disparities in rural counties.