Citation
Kim, S., LeBlanc, A., Morris, P., Simon, G., & Walter, J. (2010). Working toward Wellness: Telephone care management for Medicaid recipients with depression, eighteen months after random assignment. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Highlights
- The study’s objective was to examine the impacts of a telephone care management program, Working toward Wellness (WtW), on low-income depressed parents’ employment and earnings.
- The study used a randomized controlled trial design, assigning eligible parents to either the WtW program or existing services. Authors used data from an 18-month follow-up survey to estimate program impacts, adjusting for sample members’ characteristics before random assignment.
- The study did not find any statistically significant effects of the WtW program on employment or earnings.
- The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is high because it was based on a well-implemented randomized controlled trial. This means we would be confident that any estimated effects would be attributable to WtW and not to other factors. However, the study did not find statistically significant effects.
Intervention Examined
Working toward Wellness (WtW)
Features of the Intervention
The WtW program was implemented in Rhode Island, by United Behavioral Health, a Medicaid provider. People were eligible for the program if they were parents, were on Rhode Island Medicaid, and passed a screener indicating depressive symptoms.
Individuals in the WtW group received intensive outreach from case managers (to enter and remain in treatment. Master’s degree-level care managers placed telephone calls to WtW participants to encourage them to seek treatment for their depression. The care managers also helped coordinate health appointments, encouraged and monitored follow-through on appointments and treatment plans, and provided supplemental information and counseling. During the calls, care managers also asked participants about their employment status and goals, and about barriers to employment, such as needing child care. The average participant had nearly monthly contact with her care manager and received nine phone calls over the course of the year.
Participants who resisted seeking professional treatment were offered a structured psycho-educational program that the care manager administered over the phone. The goal of the phone program was to establish a positive relationship between care managers and participants and maintain participants’ engagement with WtW.
Features of the Study
From November 2004 to October 2006, evaluators randomly assigned 253 parents to the treatment group and 254 to the control group. The authors collected employment and earnings data from a survey administered 18 months after random assignment (6 months after program end). The authors compared the outcomes of treatment and control group members, accounting for characteristics before random assignment.
Findings
- The study did not find any statistically significant effects of the WtW program on employment or earnings.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
None.
Causal Evidence Rating
The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is high because it was based on a well-implemented randomized controlled trial. This means we would be confident that any estimated effects would be attributable to WtW and not to other factors. However, the study did not find statistically significant effects.
Additional Sources
Bloom, D., Redcross, C., Hsueh, J., & Martin, V. (2007). Four strategies to overcome barriers to employment: An introduction to the Enhanced Services for the Hard-to-Employ Demonstration and Evaluation project. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.