Employment Outcomes Associated with ACT: A Review of ACT Literature

Abstract

While the efficacy of the Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) model has been well researched in the areas of hospitalization rates, there is significantly less research on outcomes affecting quality of life, community living, and, in particular, employment. This article examines vocational outcomes associated with ACT through a comprehensive examination of the literature published between 1990 and 2003. Results show that employment outcomes are variable across studies but that ACT generally shows superior rates of employment than standard care. The presence of a vocational specialist may account for some of these variations.

Keywords:

• Assertive community treatment
• Employment
• Severe mental illness
• Vocational outcomes