CVT’s Healing Hearts team completed a major study of impacts of clinical interventions in primary care settings.
Cost Savings from Integrating Behavioral Health in Primary Care: A Pragmatic Randomized Control Trial with Karen Refugees
CVT has demonstrated significant cost savings when behavioral health interventions are provided as part of primary care for refugee populations. A major research paper showing these results from CVT’s randomized control trial for Healing Hearts was published by the Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health. On average, the study found that inpatient cost savings were more than $8,000 per patient. The authors write that these results “underscored the value of integrated behavioral health approaches in primary care for saving costs while simultaneously improving service utilization and addressing complex healthcare needs.” Authors include Maria Vukovich, Jennifer Esala, Alison Beckman, Andrea Northwood, Gregory Vinson, James Letts and Christine Danner.
Intensive Psychotherapy and Case Management for Karen Refugees with Major Depression in Primary Care: A Pragmatic Randomized Control Trial
A major study by the Healing Hearts team was published at BMC Family Practice journal in 2020, demonstrating the positive impacts of CVT’s care. When CVT extended care to refugee survivors of torture in primary care, clients saw significant improvements in mental health symptoms, including, “. . . depression, PTSD, anxiety, and pain symptoms and in social functioning at all time points, with magnitude of improvement increasing over time.” Read the study here.
Integrated Behavioral Health Care for Karen Refugees: A Qualitative Exploration of Active Ingredients
A paper has been published in the International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, written by Jennifer Esala, Ph.D., former CVT research associate; Leora Hudak, MSW, LICSW, psychotherapist; Alyce Eaton, former CVT research coordinator; and Maria Vukovich, Ph.D., research associate. CVT’s Healing Hearts project explores how integrated behavioral health care (IBHC) can effectively address the needs of Karen refugee clients, showing success across a number of important criteria: participants increased their awareness and access to behavioral health services, increased their opportunity to have complex health conditions treated, and found a beneficial point of contact for care. The full article can be purchased here.
