Are Occupational Therapy Interventions for Service Users with Mental Health Problems Cost-Effective?

Abstract

The current financial climate in health and social care is challenging: occupational therapists who work in mental health services need urgently to demonstrate clinical effectiveness and value for money in comparison to other interventions. In doing so they will help to ensure that service users in the United Kingdom can continue to benefit from occupational therapy interventions. In this opinion piece, a basic introduction to types of evaluation, costs and consequences is provided, as well as a description of research studies into the provision of occupational therapy for service users with mental health problems that include economic evaluations. Finally, methods to produce this vital information are suggested for practitioners, managers and researchers.

The experiences of people with severe mental health conditions participating in the Occupation Matters Programme: An interpretative phenomenological analysis

“…The increasing demand for mental health services (MIND, 2015), combined with the UK government deficit of £57.2 billion, drives the need to establish the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of occupational therapy interventions (Morley and Smyth, 2013). With this, and the gaps in literature on the use of Lifestyle Redesign © within mental health, there is cause to research the OMP.…”

Mental health education in occupational therapy professional preparation programs: Alignment between clinician priorities and coverage in university curricula

“…These changes include a shift in focus from institutional to community‐based care, re‐orientation of services to be more consistent with a recovery approach, an increase in service provision by the non‐government and private sectors, and an increased focus on promotion of mental wellbeing, prevention and early intervention, and the social and economic participation of people with mental illness (Scanlan, Pépin, et al ., ). In addition, practitioners in this field are affected by factors impacting on the profession more broadly, such as an increasing need to provide services that are evidence‐based and both clinically and cost‐effective (McCluskey & Cusick, ; Morley & Smyth, ).…”

Occupational Therapists' Perceptions of Appropriate Therapy Aims for Service Users in Mental Health: A Survey of Therapists in the United Kingdom

“…Further research into the field's knowledge of how to achieve its vision of occupation-focused and evidencebased practice will be continually needed as the cost effectiveness of the service provision in health care is challenged (Morley and Smyth 2013). The indicative care packages approach, of which this study is part, serves one example of the high-impact, collaborative, international work of such ongoing efforts, adding evidence to the knowledge base for best occupational therapy practice.…”

“…Estimating the costs of needed services, where reimbursement for services is solely based on diagnostic-related groups, is regarded as a poor estimate of the cost for service users with mental health problems (Knapp et al 2007). Despite these challenges, a context in which cost-effective mental health services can be provided is increasingly necessary (Morley and Smyth 2013), and an effective way of meeting both service users' needs and the requirement of the current financial climate in health care is needed.…”