Poster 22 – The Rutgers Integrated Care Evaluation Framework (The RICE Framework): An Innovative and Rigorous Set of Strategies to Evaluate Integrated Care Programs

Summary

Background. Integrated care programs that prioritize comprehensive service delivery for behavioral health conditions improve patient outcomes. This has resulted in an increase in funding initiatives supporting integrated care. However, few programs use data-driven strategies to guide program evaluation and implementation, limiting the scope of findings in the scientific literature. Purpose. To address these gaps, we describe an innovative and rigorous evaluative framework: the Rutgers Integrated Care Evaluation (RICE) Framework, designed to be tailorable across conditions and care settings. Approach. The RICE Framework is guided by two core inputs: (1) a collaborative team approach and (2) data source triangulation. For the former, we describe an approach that relies on multiple teams (project, clinical site, and evaluation) working in collaboration. While each team oversees discrete activities, all teams meet regularly to facilitate performance and advance research deliverables. For the latter, we provide a template with recommended data sources and samples, both primary and secondary, as well as areas of focus and applicable research methods. These sources, when used in combination, can guide implementation, advance replicability, and foster dissemination of scientifically relevant findings. Conclusions. We recommend other clinicians and scientists consider using the RICE Framework to advance understanding of their integrated care programs.