Financing Mechanisms for Reducing Adversity and Enhancing Resilience Through Implementation of Primary Prevention.

The experience of adversity and toxic stress in childhood is associated with the development of chronic health and behavioral health problems. These problems contribute substantially to health care expenditures and the overall burden of disease. Although a strong scientific literature documents the effectiveness of primary prevention in reducing childhood adversity, promoting well-being and lessening the incidence of negative outcomes, funding for these interventions is highly fragmented across multiple government agencies as well as private and philanthropic sectors. It is becoming increasingly clear that improving population health will require a concentrated public health effort to improve access to and the accountability of these interventions as well as the development of novel financing schemes. In this perspective we review existing financing mechanisms for funding interventions known to reduce adverse childhood experiences and discuss innovative financing approaches that use insurance as well as pay-for-success funding mechanisms. The latter require that cost savings associated with primary prevention be quantified and that these savings be used to offset program costs, sometimes with a return on investment for private investors. We provide a series of recommendations regarding better coordination and strategic oversight of existing resources as well as the need to further develop and validate methodologies for estimating the societal costs and benefits associated with the varying social policies that are designed to ameliorate the effects of adversity and to build resilience.

Toxic stress, behavioral health, and the next major era in public health.

Before the development of the germ theory in the late 19th century, infectious illnesses were largely uncontrollable and caused significant mortality. Implementing public hygiene, preventive, and treatment interventions created remarkable improvements in population health. Today's U.S. public health crises involve threats to health and human capital evidenced by multiple indicators of deteriorating wellbeing. These problems result from the interaction of risk and protective factors. Specifically, we argue that the interaction of genetic vulnerability and toxic stress are antecedents to a developmental cascade that undermines healthy development and human capital. We review relevant literature, summarize effective strategies to prevent or ameliorate this deterioration, and outline a theory of the mechanisms currently undermining our health. A series of strategies that we believe will constitute the next major era in public health are discussed, involving actions at the individual/family, community and societal level to reduce risk and strengthen protective factors. (PsycINFO Database Record

Comparative effectiveness research in mental health: an advocate's perspective.

Comparative effectiveness research holds great promise for improving the care of people with mental health conditions and disorders related to substance abuse. But inappropriate application of such research can threaten the quality of that care. We examine the controversy surrounding a large real-world trial of schizophrenia treatments and conclude that the initial presentation of results led to overly simplistic policy suggestions that had the potential to harm patients. Patient advocacy groups helped illuminate these consequences and helped stimulate further discussion and analysis. Researchers must engage stakeholders, especially patients, in all aspects of comparative effectiveness research and translate the findings into sound mental health policy and practice.