Employer-based health insurance in a changing work force

The loss of manufacturing jobs and the expansion of service jobs and part-time employment have contributed to a decline in the rate of employer-sponsored health insurance among workers. Not only does manufacturing provide more of its own workers with coverage compared with other industry groups, but it also is a significant net "exporter" of coverage to dependent workers in other industries. In 1991 the net export of coverage represented a 20 percent tax on manufacturing employers per covered worker, while professional services--the fastest-growing industry group-collected a subsidy from other industry groups equal to more than 12 percent per covered worker. Similarly, larger firms--those that employed 100 workers or more--paid a self-imposed tax of as much as 13 percent per covered worker to support dependent workers employed in smaller firms.     

Analysis of opinions regarding mental health benefits in comprehensive health care.

To assess the range of opinions regarding integration of mental health benefits and psychologists into the nation's health care system, a 116-item questionnaire was sent to a sample of the American Psychological Association's membership. The 624 respondents strongly endorsed coverage for traditionally defined (e.g., neuroses, psychoses) disorders treated by orthodox means (e.g., psychotherapy, medication). Ss tended to favor the federal government as a major source of funding for a national health care program, yet they preferred professional control of fee setting and quality assurance. A 2?×?2 MANOVA (Professional Identification?×?Degree) yielded some significant differences between groups with respect to these issues. However, the overall results are more noteworthy for the levels of agreement between groups. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Counseling psychology in behavioral medicine and health psychology.

Counseling psychology can make a contribution to the newly emerging fields of health-related behavioral science, but the nature of that contribution will depend on counseling psychology's willingness to develop new perspectives and practices. The present authors compare 2 of these health orientations, behavioral medicine and health psychology, in an effort to establish counseling psychology's relationship with either of these approaches. Three areas of training and application are surveyed, which the current research suggests will offer opportunities for meaningful participation by counseling psychologists. Such opportunities for important work in these health-related areas will call on counseling psychology's traditional psychoeducational strategies and creative new methodologies and perspectives. (55 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mental health care benefits and perceptions of health insurance agents.

Many professionals play a role in evaluating and defining health service coverage in the current marketplace. It is useful to professional psychologists to understand how their perceptions of the current coverage of mental health services are similar to or different from those of other professionals. The authors examined the views of health insurance agents. Both psychologists and insurance agents agreed that, mental health benefits were adequate to effectively treat mild mental health problems, coverage was inadequate to treat major mental illness. Psychologists and insurance agents differed in their perceptions of whether patients and therapists used benefits unnecessarily. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mental health and behavioral sciences: One federal agency's role in the behavioral sciences.

Presents a historical overview of the role of the National Institute of Mental Health in developing and using the behavioral sciences as the substantive base of its various programs of research, training and services. Major themes of research programs are illustrated with special reference to schizophrenia, brain-behavior relations, small-group interaction, collective behavior, and adaptation in stress. Training program development in the various mental health specialties is also described. Innovative models of interdisciplinary research training, involving the biological, psychological and social sciences are recommended to respond to complex research challenges in the mental health field. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adolescent health: Challenges for behavioral scientists.

Identifies reasons for concern regarding the health status of adolescents and considers opportunities for behavioral scientists to contribute to an understanding of adolescent health. These include opportunities in basic and applied research, the design and implementation of primary and secondary interventions, and health policy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Computer-assisted behavioral health counseling for high school students.

Computer-assisted behavioral health counseling for high school students (n?=?45) was compared with an educational intervention in which health tip sheets were distributed (n?=?17) and with an assessment-only condition (n?=?15). In addition, overweight subjects in the computer-assisted counseling condition received computer-generated feedback designed to encourage weight reduction. At the conclusion of the 12-week study period, subjects in the computer-assisted counseling condition reported significant reductions in saturated fat and cholesterol consumption and significant increases in fiber and complex carbohydrate consumption. Subjects in the two control conditions also reported dietary improvement but to a lesser degree. Overweight subjects in the computer-assisted counseling condition lost a mean of 6.5 lb compared with a mean weight loss of 1.25 lb for the assessment-only subjects and mean weight gain of 2.75 lb for subjects in the health tips conditions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Investments in behavioral health services: Strengthening the safety net.

As the primary Federal agency at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for improving access to health care services to the medically, financially and geographically vulnerable, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is committed to improving health outcomes and achieving health equity by funding access to quality services, a skilled health workforce, and innovative delivery programs. Furthermore, HRSA recognizes the importance of access to quality behavioral health services. This article describes HRSA's current efforts to address behavioral health needs within the safety net through the delivery of quality health services and a strengthened workforce. Also, it highlights HRSA's commitment to providing good quality mental health and substance abuse services through key federal and nonfederal partnerships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Chronic illness, pain and health behaviors of community behavioral health clients.

Persons with comorbid medical disorders, along with substance use disorders and mental illness, present complex treatment needs that are seldom addressed. Chronic physical illness negatively affects treatment participation and retention, decreasing effectiveness. Studies documenting higher medical morbidity and mortality in such persons have long been available. Less is known about their health behaviors. Respondents (n = 418) at a community behavioral health center were surveyed for prevalence of illness, pain, health behaviors, and interest in lifestyle change. A total of 73% reported at least one chronic health problem, and nearly half rated their health between fair and very poor. Most reported at least one negative health indicator or behavior (e.g., smoking). Encouragingly, nearly 50% desired lifestyle changes including smoking cessation, exercise, and stress management. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward mental health: The benefits of psychological androgyny.

Addresses the importance of psychological androgyny—defined as possessing a high degree of instrumental and expressive qualities—to considerations of sex roles, equality, and mental health. The personality and behavioral correlates of androgyny are summarized, implications for mental health professions, such as readjustment of their conceptions of what constitutes "healthy" personal value systems, are discussed. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Total quality management in behavioral health care

The literature on total quality management or continuous quality improvement in the behavioral health care field is just beginning to emerge. Although most of the evidence on its effectiveness remains anecdotal, it seems clear that it can work in behavioral health care organizations with strong leadership support and a long-term commitment.     

The mental health costs and benefits of giving social support.

Is giving support neutral, beneficial or costly to mental health? The authors identified 2 types of support--companionship and help--and conceptualized their provision as emotional labor. Companionship involves showing care to people, building feelings of happiness, pride, and belonging, whereas help involves assisting with feelings of distress, anger, and conflict and is potentially much more stressful. Using survey data (N=398), the authors found that companionship and help showed opposite associations with support givers' mental health; companionship was associated with fewer depressive symptoms, whereas help was associated with more. Social support helps recipients cope with stress and distress, but it may also affect people who give it, with consequences depending on the type of support given. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Propagation of innovations in networked groups.

A novel paradigm was developed to study the behavior of groups of networked people searching a problem space. The authors examined how different network structures affect the propagation of information in laboratory-created groups. Participants made numerical guesses and received scores that were also made available to their neighbors in the network. The networks were compared on speed of discovery and convergence on the optimal solution. One experiment showed that individuals within a group tend to converge on similar solutions even when there is an equally valid alternative solution. Two additional studies demonstrated that the optimal network structure depends on the problem space being explored, with networks that incorporate spatially based cliques having an advantage for problems that benefit from broad exploration, and networks with greater long-range connectivity having an advantage for problems requiring less exploration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of behavioral and social science on public health policymaking.

Public health policies are important guiding principles that serve to shape the well-being of individuals, groups, and society. Behavioral and social scientists can play key influential roles in public health policymaking. The actors and processes involved in setting public health policy are described, and several substantive examples of public health decision making are discussed, emphasizing HIV prevention policy experiences at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The significant influence of behavioral and social science in each of these examples is identified and critiqued. Challenges to further integration of behavioral science and public health policy are identified, and potential solutions are proposed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Costs and incentives in a behavioral health carve-out

A carve-out of mental health and substance abuse services initiated in 1993 by the Group Insurance Commission (GIC) of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts resulted in changes in the costs of those services. Those changes were related to incentives in the contract between the GIC and its managed behavioral health vendor. Total and plan costs were reduced by 30-40 percent after adjusting for trends. Incentives to produce savings of this magnitude not only were a consequence of the payer/vendor contract but, we speculate, derive from the growth potential facing companies in the managed behavioral health care market.     

Basic behavioral science research for mental health: Vulnerability and resilience.

Presents factors in basic behavioral science research on the nature of and variations in personality as sources of the differences in the vulnerability and resilience to stress. Individual genetic predispositions, expressed as temperament, personality, and intelligence, social skills and self-esteem are viewed as factors which, in turn, are shaped by a variety of environmental influences. The advances made in behavioral science research and key findings revealing the sources of vulnerability and strength in several areas of investigation are described. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)