Pamela J. Steigman

• MA
• Researcher at University of Illinois Chicago

Objective: Many people receiving services for psychiatric disorders live on low incomes, navigate complex financial situations, and have limited economic security. The authors sought to determine whether a financial wellness intervention delivered virtually by peers would increase financial literacy, reduce economic strain, and improve financial c...

Objective: The authors sought to determine whether providing recipients of supported employment with individual budgets from which they could purchase employment-related goods and services would improve employment and financial outcomes. Methods: Sixty study participants were recruited from an individual placement and support (IPS) program and r...

Date Presented 04/20/2023 The purpose of this randomized controlled trial (RCT) was to examine the efficacy of the Nutrition and Exercise for Wellness and Recovery (NEW-R) Intervention in improving competency and behaviors related to weight management for individuals with psychiatric disabilities. The intervention group improved more than the contr...

Objective: Sexual and physical abuse are highly prevalent among women living with HIV (WLWH) and are risk factors for development of mental health and substance use disorders (MHDs, SUDs), and cognitive and medical co-morbidities. We examined empirically-derived patterns of trauma, MHD, and SUD, and associations with later cognitive and health out...

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of the Nutrition and Exercise for Wellness and Recovery (NEW-R) intervention for improving competency and behaviors related to diet, physical activity, and weight management. Methods: Participants with psychiatric disabilities were recruited from four community mental health agenci...

Objective: The authors sought to determine whether staff at a peer-run agency could deliver supported employment services with high fidelity to the individual placement and support (IPS) model and whether employment outcomes of peer-delivered IPS plus work-specific health promotion were superior to usual supported employment services. Methods: T...

Objective: Little is known about the employment experiences of people with preexisting behavioral health conditions during the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, despite the recognized importance of work for this group. Method: Two hundred and seventy two adults with behavioral health conditions, recruited through statewide mental hea...

Objective: Longitudinal changes in health outcomes of patients with serious mental illness and co-occurring diabetes were examined after introduction of an intervention involving electronic disease management, care coordination, and personalized patient education. Methods: This observational cohort study included 179 patients with serious mental...

People with behavioral health disorders may be particularly vulnerable to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, yet little is known about how they are faring. A mixed-methods, anonymous needs assessment was conducted to understand changes in the lives of adults with mental health and substance use disorders since the pandemic onset. A cross-sectiona...

Objective Prior research has not addressed whether both serious mental illness (SMI) and other mental health (OMH) disorders affect the likelihood of 30-day readmissions after medical hospitalizations, or whether post-discharge use of outpatient medical, mental health, and pharmacy services is associated with readmission likelihood. Methods Using...

We used the World Health Organization’s Composite International Diagnostic Interview to determine the prevalence, comorbidity, and correlates of lifetime and 12-month behavioral health disorders in a multisite cohort of 1027 women living with HIV in the United States. Most (82.6%) had one or more lifetime disorders including 34.2% with mood disorde...

Objective: This study examined the prevalence and correlates of co-occurring obesity and diabetes among community mental health program members. Methods: Medical screenings of 457 adults with serious mental illnesses were conducted by researchers and peer wellness specialists in four U.S. states. Body mass index was measured directly. Diabetes w...

The prevalence of obesity and its associations with gender, clinical factors, and medical co-morbidities were examined among 457 adults attending public mental health programs in 4 U.S. states. BMI was measured directly and other information was gathered by interview. Over half (59 %, n = 270) were obese including 18 % (n = 83) who were morbidly ob...

Physical health screenings were conducted by researchers and peer wellness specialists for adults attending publicly-funded community mental health programs. A total of 457 adults with serious mental illnesses attended health fairs in 4 U.S. states and were screened for 8 common medical co-morbidities and health risk factors. Also assessed were sel...

Objective: This multisite study examined outcomes of mothers with mental illnesses receiving integrated clinical, rehabilitation, and parenting services for their preschool-age children. Mothers' outcomes included independent living and employment status, custody loss and reunification, psychiatric hospitalization, and substance abuse. Method: R...

Depression has been shown to moderate the effects of physical illness self-management (ISM) programs. We attempted to replicate these findings for a mental ISM intervention. Outpatients with serious mental illness (N = 428) from eight Tennessee communities were randomly assigned to receive a peer-led self-management intervention called Building Rec...

This study addressed whether psychopharmacologic and psychotherapeutic treatment of depressed HIV+ women met standards defined in the best practice literature, and tested hypothesized predictors of standard-concordant care. 1,352 HIV-positive women in the multi-center Women's Interagency HIV Study were queried about depressive symptoms and mental h...

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of a mental illness self-management intervention, called Wellness Recovery Action Planning (WRAP), on the use of and need for mental health services over time compared with nutrition and wellness education. Method: Participants were recruited from outpatient community mental health se...

Background: The prevalence of depressive disorders (DD) was assessed in a multi-site cohort of Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS) HIV+ participants. We hypothesized that: 1) DD prevalence would be higher than among women in the general population; and 2) those with treated DD would be more likely than untreated women to be on highly active antire...

This study examined the effectiveness of the Building Recovery of Individual Dreams and Goals (BRIDGES) peer-led education intervention in empowering mental health consumers to become better advocates for their own care. A total of 428 adults with mental illness were randomly assigned to BRIDGES (intervention condition) or a services as usual wait...

Peer-led education interventions have the potential to provide mental health consumers with the knowledge, skills and support they need to live successful and rewarding self-determined lives. However, few studies have explored whether and how these interventions enhance recovery. This study addresses this knowledge gap by examining changes among 16...

Objective: Families often do not receive the information that they need to care for their adult relatives with mental illness. This study examined the effectiveness of a family-led education intervention, the Journey of Hope, in improving participants' knowledge about mental illness and its treatment and decreasing their information needs. Methods:...

Families often do not receive the information that they need to care for their adult relatives with mental illness. This study examined the effectiveness of a family-led education intervention, the Journey of Hope, in improving participants' knowledge about mental illness and its treatment and decreasing their information needs. A total of 462 fami...

The authors examined changes in caregiving satisfaction and information needs among 462 relatives of individuals with mental illness who participated in a study of a family-led education course, the Journey of Hope (JOH). Participants were randomly assigned to receive JOH or to a control group waiting list and followed for 9 months. General linear...

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of local unemployment rates on evidence-based supported employment (SE) programs tailored for people with psychiatric disabilities. Participants (n = 1, 273) from 7 states in the US were randomly assigned to experimental SE or services as usual/comparison conditions and followed for 24 months. Mi...

The human foot pad is essential in buffering stress and strain during ambulation. Foot pad atrophy has been associated with foot pain, limping gait, callous formation, and foot ulcers. We report a method to measure foot pad thickness and have investigated its measurement reliability. Two podiatrists independently and bilaterally measured fore and r...

This chapter describes a training program for state-funded providers of assertice community treatment services in Illinois and presents results of the evaluation of the didactic education component.

This evaluation examined the impact of a newly instituted prime vendor (wholesaler) pharmaceutical system being tested in several Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals. A quasiexperimental preintervention, postintervention design involving 33 VA medical centers (VAMCs), which received the prime vendor system on a trial basis, and 32 hospita...