Outcomes Accountability Systems for Early Childhood Disruptive Behaviors: A Scoping Review of Availability

Early childhood disruptive behaviors are common mental health problems among American youth, and if poorly-managed, pose costly psychological and societal burdens. Outcomes accountability systems in clinical practice are vital opportunities to optimize early intervention for common mental health problems; however, such systems seem rare. A scoping review was conducted to summarize the current availability of outcomes accountability systems in clinical programs addressing early childhood disruptive behaviors, particularly in the US. We used PsycINFO to identify peer-reviewed literature published in English from 2005 to 2021, from which we selected 23 publications from the US, UK, and Netherlands on outcomes accountability systems within clinical programs treating common childhood mental health problems. Only 3 out of 23 publications described outcomes accountability efforts specifically for early childhood problems. Within the 3 studies, only one UK-based study specifically targeted early childhood disruptive behaviors. We did not find publications specifically describing outcomes accountability efforts in US-based clinical programs to treat early childhood disruptive behaviors. There are multi-level challenges preventing changes to the prevalent US model of paying a fee for each unit of child mental healthcare, with little regard for patient outcomes. However, opportunities exist to improve US-based accountability efforts; from top-down expansion of financial incentives, accountability initiatives, and PDT evidence-based practices to an iterative, bottom-up development of meaningful outcomes measurement by providers. Greater adoption of outcomes monitoring in US clinical practice for common mental health problems can optimize management of early childhood disruptive behaviors and mitigate long-term societal and economic burdens.