{"title":"A Scoping Review of the Peer-Reviewed Research on Alternative First Response for Mental and Behavioral Health Crisis and Homelessness.","authors":"Emily Leickly, Christian Porter, Liat Kriegel","doi":"10.1007/s10597-026-01730-6","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Alternative first response programs (i.e., non-law enforcement teams dispatched to calls involving mental or behavioral health crisis) have expanded rapidly, but implementation has outpaced development of an empirical evidence base. This scoping review assessed the current state of peer-reviewed research on these programs, including how they are defined and studied, and where gaps remain.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Guided by PRISMA-ScR, a scoping review of peer-reviewed studies was conducted. Eligible studies described non-law enforcement teams dispatched to calls for service involving mental or behavioral health crises. PubMed was searched using a comprehensive set of keywords, supplemented by author-curated sources and reference list searches. After screening 2,510 records, 16 studies met inclusion criteria. Data extracted included study characteristics, program terminology and definitions, and findings. Content analysis identified recurring themes related to program features and research gaps.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>All studies were published since 2019, with most since 2022. Terminology varied substantially, with \"alternative first response\" and \"mobile crisis teams\" most commonly used. Programs were typically defined in contrast to police response and staffed by multidisciplinary teams. Most focused on mental health crisis, often overlapping with homelessness and substance use, and emphasized de-escalation, service linkage, and diversion from criminal legal and emergency systems. Research gaps included limited attention to client experiences, particularly among marginalized populations, and a lack of longitudinal, experimental, and cost-effectiveness research.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>There is little empirical research on alternative first response programs. More rigorous, longitudinal, and client-focused research is needed to assess program impacts and inform implementation, policy, and funding decisions.</p>","PeriodicalId":10654,"journal":{"name":"Community Mental Health Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1000,"publicationDate":"2026-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Community Mental Health Journal","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-026-01730-6","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"HEALTH POLICY & SERVICES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objective: Alternative first response programs (i.e., non-law enforcement teams dispatched to calls involving mental or behavioral health crisis) have expanded rapidly, but implementation has outpaced development of an empirical evidence base. This scoping review assessed the current state of peer-reviewed research on these programs, including how they are defined and studied, and where gaps remain.
Methods: Guided by PRISMA-ScR, a scoping review of peer-reviewed studies was conducted. Eligible studies described non-law enforcement teams dispatched to calls for service involving mental or behavioral health crises. PubMed was searched using a comprehensive set of keywords, supplemented by author-curated sources and reference list searches. After screening 2,510 records, 16 studies met inclusion criteria. Data extracted included study characteristics, program terminology and definitions, and findings. Content analysis identified recurring themes related to program features and research gaps.
Results: All studies were published since 2019, with most since 2022. Terminology varied substantially, with "alternative first response" and "mobile crisis teams" most commonly used. Programs were typically defined in contrast to police response and staffed by multidisciplinary teams. Most focused on mental health crisis, often overlapping with homelessness and substance use, and emphasized de-escalation, service linkage, and diversion from criminal legal and emergency systems. Research gaps included limited attention to client experiences, particularly among marginalized populations, and a lack of longitudinal, experimental, and cost-effectiveness research.
Conclusions: There is little empirical research on alternative first response programs. More rigorous, longitudinal, and client-focused research is needed to assess program impacts and inform implementation, policy, and funding decisions.
期刊介绍：
Community Mental Health Journal focuses on the needs of people experiencing serious forms of psychological distress, as well as the structures established to address those needs. Areas of particular interest include critical examination of current paradigms of diagnosis and treatment, socio-structural determinants of mental health, social hierarchies within the public mental health systems, and the intersection of public mental health programs and social/racial justice and health equity. While this is the journal of the American Association for Community Psychiatry, we welcome manuscripts reflecting research from a range of disciplines on recovery-oriented services, public health policy, clinical delivery systems, advocacy, and emerging and innovative practices.
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
京公网安备 11010802042870号
