The impact of mobile crisis services on the use of community-based mental health services

Objective: To examine the impact of community-based mobile crisis services on postcrisis community-based mental health service use and user characteristics related to likelihood of postcrisis service use. Method: Differences in use of postcrisis mental health services and timing between a community-based intervention cohort and a matched hospital-based cohort were assessed using a Cox proportional hazards model. Results: A mobile crisis intervention consumer was 17% more likely to receive community-based mental health services within 90 days after the crisis event. Controlling for prior service use, mobile crisis intervention consumers with no prior mental health service use were 48% more likely to receive community-based mental health services within 90 days after the crisis event than a consumer from the hospital-based intervention cohort. Consumers more likely to use postcrisis services were African American, homeless, experiencing acute problems, previous mental health service users, and severely mentally disabled. Conclusions: Implications for social work practice are discussed.