The Role of Proximity to Coordinated Specialty Care For Early Psychosis And Program Engagement in Washington State: The Interaction of Travel Time, Race, and Ethnicity.

Objective: Proximity to mental health services is a predictor of timely access to services. The present study sought to investigate whether travel time was associated with engagement in coordinated specialty care (CSC) for early psychosis, with specific attention to whether the interaction of travel time by race and ethnicity had differential impact.

Data Source/study Setting: Data collected between 2019 and 2022 as part of the New Journeys evaluation, the CSC model in Washington State.

Study Design: This cross-sectional study included a sample of 225 service users with first episode psychosis (FEP) who had received services from New Journeys.

Data Collection: Service users' addresses, and the physical location of CSC were geocoded. Spatial proximity was calculated as travel time in minutes. Scheduled appointments, attendance and program status were captured monthly by clinicians as part of the New Journeys measurement battery.

Principal Findings: Proximity was significantly associated with the number of appointments scheduled and attended, and program status (graduation/completion and disengagement). Among Hispanic service users with spatial proximity further away from CSC (longer commutes) was associated with a lower likelihood of graduating/completing CSC compared to non-Hispanic service users (p = .04). Non-white services users had a higher risk of disengagement from CSC compared to white service users (p = .03); additionally, the effects of spatial proximity on disengagement were amplified for non-White service users (p = .03).

Conclusions: Findings suggest that proximity is associated with program engagement and partially explains potential differences in program status among ethnoracial group.