The Orange County, California Health Care Agency has contracted with BBI to conduct a four – year evaluation of an innovative web-based platform supporting the availability and accessibility of Psychiatric Advanced Directives (“PADs”) used by persons with mental health challenges. PADs are a form of self-determination that results in the creation of a legal document specifying a person with mental health challenges’ preferences for treatment and support when they are unable to make their own decisions.
The objective of BBI’s evaluation is to determine how the proposed PADs web-based platform is accessible and useable by the 7 counties’ designated priority populations of persons with mental health challenges and their community stakeholder agencies. Stakeholder agencies can include first responders, hospital emergency rooms, criminal justice agencies, homeless services providers, and others. The PADs project is being implemented by the California counties of Orange, Monterey, Shasta, Mariposa, Contra Costa, Fresno, and Tri-Cities. BBI’s partners in the project are Concepts Forward Consulting, Chorus, Inc., the Rand Corporation, and IDEA Engineering that manage project implementation, development of the PADs platform, evaluation of the use of PADs by people with mental health challenges, and PADs marketing, respectively.
BBI’s Chairman, Dr. Peter Blanck notes: “BBI’s evaluation will provide valuable insight into the processes necessary to develop a PADs web-based platform, how it facilitates self-determination among county-designated priority populations, and barriers and facilitators to its use by their priority populations and community stakeholder agencies. These findings will enhance the potential for PADs web-based platforms’ replicability and sustainability within California, and in other states. BBI’s research findings will also have the potential to inform future policy development and efficacy of community – based, self- directed mental health services”.