Improving Mental Health Care by Focusing on Patient Goals

Measuring What Matters-Patient Centered Outcome Measures of Goal-Directed Care for People with Serious Mental Illness

NIH-funded research Rand Corporation · NIH-11176227

This project aims to create better ways to understand if mental health care is truly helping people with serious mental illnesses reach their personal goals.

Quick facts

Grant typeR01 grant
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionRand Corporation NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (Santa Monica, United States)
Project IDNIH-11176227 on NIH RePORTER

What this research studies

We want to make sure that mental health care for conditions like bipolar disorder is focused on what matters most to you. This project is creating new tools to track how well care helps individuals achieve their personal goals, rather than just general treatment targets. We will gather information from mental health clinics in Texas and Arizona that are already using these new methods. Our goal is to develop a standardized way to measure progress on individual goals, ensuring care is truly person-centered.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: This work is relevant to adults aged 21 and older living with serious mental illnesses, such as bipolar disorder, who receive care in community-based settings.

Not a fit: Patients not receiving care for serious mental illnesses or those outside the adult age range would not directly benefit from this specific project.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to improved quality of care for individuals with serious mental illnesses by making sure treatment is focused on their unique goals.

How similar studies have performed: Similar approaches have successfully developed quality measures for older adults and people with multiple chronic health conditions, suggesting a strong foundation for this work.

Where this research is happening

Santa Monica, United States

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Conditions Bipolar Disorder
Last reviewed 2026-06-13 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.