New Journeys Evaluations
While consumers are participating in the New Journeys program they complete a battery of surveys measuring symptoms of anxiety, depression, psychosis and more. In addition clinicians complete screenings which collect demographic information. Throughout the year clinicians use these measures to inform the care they provide to a consumer on an individual level. At the end of the year the New Journeys evaluation staff take all of the measures and demographics collected across each of the sites and use it to evaluate the effectiveness of the program and identify trends which could be used to improve the program. These evaluations are available below, and an executive summary is provided for the most recent evaluation.
New Journeys Evaluation: Year 3 Executive Summary
The majority of eligible participants (n = 112) were male 76% (n = 84) and the average age at screening was 20 years old. Fifty-four percent described themselves as non-white, 34% identified as Hispanic, and 15% identified as LGBTQ. Although most of our participants were still Medicaid enrollees, private insurance accounted for 20% (n = 19) of enrolled participants. The mean duration for untreated psychosis for participants was 97 days, and the average age for when they first encountered the mental health system was 18 years old. Upon entering the program 17% of clients (n = 19) had a job and 26% of clients (n = 29) were enrolled in school.
At program entry, 25% of participants had moderate or higher symptoms of depression, 33% reported moderate to severe symptoms of anxiety, and 21% reported having suicidal thoughts in the 2 weeks prior to intake. Substance use at intake was frequent. In the 30 days prior to screening, tobacco use was the most frequently reported at 38.2%, followed by cannabis and alcohol both at 30.3%, and electronic cigarette use at 14.7%.
Over the first 12 months of the New Journeys program (available data is inadequate for analysis after this period due to missing information) participants reported significantly lower symptoms of anxiety and psychotic experiences, as well as improved quality of life. Participants were more likely to go to school and employment increased from 17% at intake to 45% after participating in New Journeys. New Journeys was not associated with a significant reduction in substance use among participants. Overall, attendance by the participants and families was high; families attended 83% of the 919 scheduled appointments, and clients attended their various sessions 74% or more of the time. Over the course of 12 months New Journeys clinicians scheduled a total of 5,995 sessions and performed a total of 2,726 outreach attempts either in person or by phone to participants and their families.
