Integrated Care Model Boosts Disability Patient Outcomes

University of Cincinnati and Ohio State University researchers have found that adults with developmental disabilities who have integrated care were less likely to go to the emergency room or be hospitalized than others who were not.

Published in Disability and Health Journal, their study found that adults with developmental disabilities may be better served using integrated care health centers that co-locate physical and mental health services.

The retrospective cross-sectional study looked at inpatient and outpatient encounters of 6,706 adults with developmental disabilities from 2022 to 2023 who were patients at two healthcare models offered at the University of Cincinnati and its affiliated academic health system, UC Health.

Medical Xpress reported the study findings.

Researchers found that adults with developmental disabilities who were engaged in an integrated psychiatric and primary care model had 50% lower odds of presenting to an emergency department and 38% lower odds of requiring hospitalization for all causes. Odds of the patients being referred to psychiatric emergency department use were 72% lower for patients using the integrated care model, according to the study.

Patients in the study were either seen at the University of Cincinnati Timothy Freeman, MD, Center for Developmental Disabilities, which provides integrated primary and behavioral healthcare, or the University of Cincinnati/UC Health Mood Disorders Center, which uses a traditional care model to provide psychiatric services.

"We are trying to find a better and more effective way to provide care for adults with disabilities, many of whom are transitioning from the pediatric healthcare system," explains Corey Keeton, associate professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine and also in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences. "The adult healthcare system is very different from the pediatric system and is much more limited in terms of resources."

Daniel Gilmore, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar at Ohio State University, was the lead author for the study in Disability and Health Journal.

"These findings are exciting and suggest the potential of integrated care to support the physical and mental health of adults with developmental disabilities," says Gilmore. "However, the study was cross-sectional, and much work remains to more thoroughly understand relationships between integrated care and service utilization."

Other study co-authors include Emily Johnson, MD; Aurora Rivendale, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at UC; Lauren Wing, MD, associate professor of family medicine at UC and medical director of the Timothy Freeman Center.

Additional co-authors include Susan Havercamp, PhD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral health at Ohio State University; Lindy Weaver, PhD, associate professor of occupational therapy at Ohio State University; Ingrid Adams, professor of medical dietrics at Ohio State University; and Brittany Hand, PhD, associate professor of internal medicine at Ohio State University.

Read the full study in the Disability and Health Journal online.

The study was reported by Medical Xpress along with Disability Insider, Health Tost, Life Technology, Brightsurf and News Medical.