@article{ref1,
title="Common patterns of service use in children's mental health",
journal="Evaluation and program planning",
year="1998",
author="Warren Lambert, E. and Brannan, Ana María and Breda, Carolyn S. and Heflinger, Craig Anne and Bickman, Leonard",
volume="21",
number="1",
pages="47-57",
abstract="Evaluators and program administrators need simple multivariate descriptions of mental health service utilization. This study demonstrates the utility of cluster analytic patterns of care in a sample of 979 children receiving formal mental health services. Six patterns were identified: (a) brief outpatient; (b) extended outpatient; (c) hospital with outpatient; (d) non-residential more-than-outpatient; (e) extended residential; and (f) atypical heavy-service outliers. Children in high-cost clusters had above-average clinical severity. Children in a continuum of care used three patterns (b, d and e) more often, while those served through a traditional fee-for-service system used two clusters (a and c) more often. Service utilization clusters provide a useful and easily-understood vocabulary for summarizing children's quantity of use of various mental health services.<p />",
language="",
issn="0149-7189",
doi="10.1016/S0149-7189(97)00044-X",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0149-7189(97)00044-X"
}