Evidence-Based Practice in Mental Health

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Evidenced-Based Practice in Mental Health
In 2003, leaders in North Carolina’s healthcare field realized they needed to bring about changes to the services they provided in their community’s mental healthcare programs (McLaughlin & McLauglin, 2008). The North Carolina Science to Service Project (NCS2S) was implemented to bring more coordinated, quality healthcare services to their mental health patients (McLaughlin & McLauglin, 2008). The goals of the project were to better match healthcare services to their mental healthcare patient population, apply evidenced-based practice guidelines in their mental health practice, ensure proper resources were allocated for the services, and begin state-wide training programs to their healthcare professionals (McLaughlin & McLauglin, 2008). This case study examines the integration of mental healthcare services into the community setting, the use of evidence-based practice guidelines, the effect on the stakeholders, and the role of healthcare professionals in implementing change.
Why Change was Needed
The impetus for change to improve the healthcare services provided to individuals suffering from mental illness came about because the deinstitutionalization efforts begun in the 1970s were failing to properly assist this population (McLaughlin & McLauglin, 2008). McLauglin and McLauglin (2008) explain North Carolina’s four regional mental health hospitals were acting as independent entities and not working to provide better coordinated services to its’ local community mental health centers. They reveal local community mental health centers were not receiving the resources necessary to run effective rehabilitation programs for their patients (McLaughlin & McLauglin, 2008). Similar situ...

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