OCEBHA Older Adult Behavioral Health Workforce Readiness Assessment Tool and Toolkit

The Oregon Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health and Aging (OCEBHA) and iLab developed this Assessment Tool to provide a framework for aging services, behavioral health, and primary care providers to ensure their workforces are prepared to deliver quality, evidence-based, and informed behavioral healthcare for older adults.

Concepts in this tool are based on evidence-based sources on workflow design, including the American Medical Association’s (AMA) guidance on Behavioral Health Integration, the 4M’s Behavioral Health Checklist from Rush University, Trauma-Informed Care, Zero Suicide in Health Systems, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and implementation science. Effective behavioral healthcare for older adults combines support for mental well-being, integration with primary healthcare, and addresses social determinants of health. The tool has two purposes: first, to document the provider’s readiness to provide quality behavioral healthcare for older adults, and second, to help providers develop and implement a plan for ensuring that their workforce is prepared to meet the behavioral healthcare needs of older adults as this need continues to grow. Funding for the 2024-2025 development and pilot of this tool was provided by the Oregon Health Authority. For more information on OCEBHA, visit https://ocebha.org/.

For more information on the development of this instrument, contact Karen Cellarius, Senior Research Associate, the PSU Human Services Implementation Lab at cellark@pdx.edu, and the Oregon Center for Excellence for Behavioral Health and Aging, at ocebha@pdx.edu.