The Sustainability of Evidence-Based Practices in Routine Mental Health Agencies

The research presented here reports on sustainability of the practices within the National Implementing Evidence Based Practices Project for people with serious mental illness. Forty-nine sites completed the initial 2-year implementation phase and were the focus of our study. Our aims were to discern the number of sites that sustained practices 2 years after implementation, the reasons for sustaining or not sustaining, differences in characteristics between the two groups, and the extent and nature of practice adaptations. We used a mixed-methods approach, based on a telephone survey that gathered qualitative and quantitative data from site representatives and others familiar with the sites and practices during the follow-up period. We found that 80% of sites sustained their practices for 2 years post-implementation, that sustainers differed from non-sustainers in several domains: financing, training, fidelity and agency leadership, and that most sites adapted practices moderately to meet state and local needs.