Exploratory Study of the Differential Impact of Mental Health Funding on Rates of State Psychiatric Hospital Utilization

This exploratory study examines 10 categories of mental health services for any differential impacts they may have upon 6 measures of state psychiatric hospital utilization. These data for 1984, 1985 and 1986 are studied for the 40 catchment areas in Massachusetts, while controlling for salient demographic characteristics derived from the 1980 United States Census. Also examined for its impact upon rates of utilization is the Brewster v. Dukakis Consent Decree. The auspices of community mental health services are additionally included for control purposes to ascertain if systems predominantly operated directly by state personnel have different rates of hospital utilization than community systems that rely primarily upon contracts with vendors. The data indicate that considerable variance in rates of state psychiatric hospital utilization can be accounted for by the funding variables, while inclusion of the other independent variables allows for even more variance to be explained.