Collaborative Care for Anxiety: Differences in Patient and Clinic-Level Characteristics on Treatment Outcomes in a Safety-Net Hospital System.

The collaborative care model (CoCM) is an evidence-based model shown to improve treatment of depression and anxiety in the primary care setting. However, there is limited research on CoCM outcomes in underserved populations and which factors impact outcomes. We performed a retrospective chart review to examine GAD-7 scores for patients (N = 1,034) seen in primary care clinics within an urban, safety-net hospital system. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test and linear mixed models were used. Our population was 81% female and 89% self-identified Black or African American. There were significant reductions on GAD-7 scores from baseline to 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-months follow-up (p < .001). The analysis suggested gender, patient age, clinic setting, and number of visits were significant. The effect sizes for these covariates were 0.94, 3.77, 1.98, and 0.74, respectively. Further research including patients' social determinants of health and comorbidities may help refine CoCM and optimize its effectiveness.