In 2013, APA established the APA Center for Psychology and Health, in collaboration with the American Psychological Association Practice Organization. The center was created to help implement a major goal of APA's Strategic Plan: expanding psychology's role in advancing health. The center highlights and fosters the contributions of psychology and psychologists to both interprofessional (or integrated) health-care teams and to interdisciplinary research, with the objective of more effectively preventing and treating physical illnesses and promoting mental health. The center's other areas of focus include obesity, diabetes, cardiac disease and cancer. Three major initiatives in support of these goals are underway.
In March, the center called for applications for a grants program to make the business case for including psychologists in integrated health care. The program offers one-year grants of $5,000 to $12,000 to support reviews of existing databases, including health-care records or claims data, to evaluate the impact of psychological services on health-care outcomes. Using these data, we are attempting to demonstrate the degree to which including psychologists' services in medical settings affects clinical outcomes, patient and medical provider satisfaction, and costs. We received 34 applications and gave grants to:
- University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Shandra Brown Levy, PhD, principal investigator for "Does Integration Change Primary-care Practice and Patient Utilization of Services?" an evaluation of costs and service usage in clinics with psychologists on site versus the traditional referral model.
- The Ohio State University, Columbus, Wexler Medical Center, Cheryl Carmin, PhD, principal investigator for "Impact of Psychological Services on Health Services Utilization in Individuals with Chronic Heart Disease," a review of the impact of the provision of psychologists' services on patient outcomes.
- Yamhill Coordinated Care Organization, Yamhill County, Oregon, Mary Peterson, PhD, principal investigator for "Prove It: Making the Case for Behavioral Health Integration," an evaluation of utilization of all health-care services with psychologists as part of the team versus typical clinics.
- Nemours Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, Delaware, Julia Price, PhD, principal investigator for "Youth with Poorly Controlled Type 1 Diabetes: Do Behavioral Interventions Improve Health Outcomes?" a comparison of clinical outcomes and service use for patients who have access to psychologists' services from the diabetes team to those patients who do not.
- Genesys Regional Medical Center, Grand Blanc, Michigan, Mark Vogel, PhD, principal investigator for "The Value of Psychologists Integrated in the Primary-care Setting," an evaluation of the impact of the treatment of depression by psychologists in primary care on overall health outcomes and costs.
Reports from each of these grantees are due next summer.
Another center project is a video series, which premiered at APA's Annual Convention in Toronto in August. The series is designed to give psychologists, psychology students and other health professionals a better understanding of the contributions psychologists make in integrated health-care settings. We have produced three videos so far. One, filmed at Christiana Care Women's Health Center in Newark, Delaware, describes the major health requirements of women during pregnancy and the importance of integrating psychologists' services into traditional obstetrics care. A second highlights a program at Nemours Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware, that has improved the health status of children in medically underserved areas by integrating psychological services into primary care. The third video features an integrated family practice program at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, department of family practice, in Worcester, Massachusetts, which is home to an innovative web-based training program.
Last spring, the center also played a major role in organizing a Presidents' Summit on Child Health Promotion, co-hosted by APA President Barry Anton, PhD, and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) President Sandra Hassink, MD. The event brought together leaders from numerous health organizations, including the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Emergency Physicians, and the American Public Health Association. The goal of the meeting was to develop a common framework for child health policy advocacy and health-promotion messaging. This work will be continued by AAP, and APA will continue to partner with these organizations.
For more information about the center and its activities, visit APA's Center for Psychology and Health.