{"id":{"repo_id":"gmu","oai_identifier":"oai:MARS:1920/13733"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/gmu/oai:MARS:1920/13733","repository":{"repo_id":"gmu","name":"George Mason University","base_url":"https://mars.gmu.edu/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"SPATIAL DIMENSIONS OF MENTAL HEALTH AND THE MENTAL HEALTH CARE SYSTEM IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA","abstract":"This dissertation addresses three research questions regarding geographic differences in inpatient psychiatric facility usage and mental health outcomes in Virginia. These research questions are: (1) What is the relationship between geographic access to both state operated and community based mental health services, state facility usage and population mental health outcomes or indicators? (2) How and where has psychiatric facility utilization across Virginia changed after implementation of 2013’s mental health care reforms and does the data support the policy having its desired impact? (3) Does social media content relate to facility usage and mental health outcomes, and if so, where?Much of the action on mental healthcare reform takes place within the medical and legal communities. This work showcases the benefits of geographic research methods to enhance the understanding of mental healthcare system in the state of Virginia. The spatial association between mental health care access, population factors and the rate of measured mental health outcomes such as inpatient hospitalization and suicide are examined in this research using spatial statistical methods, to include regression modeling, spatial autocorrelation analysis, and temporal comparisons. The changes in utilization patterns and increase in overall utilization of Virginia’s state operated mental hospitals following the enactment of VA SB260, which expanded access to state inpatient facilities, reveals which regions were most impacted by the law and indicates greater fulfillment of unmet needs for inpatient care reforms. The findings support calls to repeal IMD exclusion laws as regions with higher proportions of Medicaid eligible populations experienced the greatest increase in utilization. This study also examined social media content from Twitter to expand previous research into social media and health and determined that content from Twitter data feeds can improve suicide prediction model performance and provided useful indicators in the geographic differences in population mental health across the State of Virginia.","abstract_html":"This dissertation addresses three research questions regarding geographic differences in inpatient psychiatric facility usage and mental health outcomes in Virginia. These research questions are: (1) What is the relationship between geographic access to both state operated and community based mental health services, state facility usage and population mental health outcomes or indicators? (2) How and where has psychiatric facility utilization across Virginia changed after implementation of 2013’s mental health care reforms and does the data support the policy having its desired impact? (3) Does social media content relate to facility usage and mental health outcomes, and if so, where?Much of the action on mental healthcare reform takes place within the medical and legal communities. This work showcases the benefits of geographic research methods to enhance the understanding of mental healthcare system in the state of Virginia. The spatial association between mental health care access, population factors and the rate of measured mental health outcomes such as inpatient hospitalization and suicide are examined in this research using spatial statistical methods, to include regression modeling, spatial autocorrelation analysis, and temporal comparisons. The changes in utilization patterns and increase in overall utilization of Virginia’s state operated mental hospitals following the enactment of VA SB260, which expanded access to state inpatient facilities, reveals which regions were most impacted by the law and indicates greater fulfillment of unmet needs for inpatient care reforms. The findings support calls to repeal IMD exclusion laws as regions with higher proportions of Medicaid eligible populations experienced the greatest increase in utilization. This study also examined social media content from Twitter to expand previous research into social media and health and determined that content from Twitter data feeds can improve suicide prediction model performance and provided useful indicators in the geographic differences in population mental health across the State of Virginia.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Schwoerer, Mary c"],"institution":null,"degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2023,"date_issued":"2023","date_published":"2023","updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:51:56Z","subjects":["health geography","IMD Exclusion","mental health care access","social media analytics"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["hdl:1920/13733"],"render_values":[{"text":"hdl:1920/13733","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":null,"outbound_label":null,"outbound_source":null},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2023"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Dissertation"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["health geography","IMD Exclusion","mental health care access","social media analytics"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["hdl:1920/13733"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.other","label":"Dc Description Other","values":["This dissertation addresses three research questions regarding geographic differences in inpatient psychiatric facility usage and mental health outcomes in Virginia. These research questions are: (1) What is the relationship between geographic access to both state operated and community based mental health services, state facility usage and population mental health outcomes or indicators? (2) How and where has psychiatric facility utilization across Virginia changed after implementation of 2013’s mental health care reforms and does the data support the policy having its desired impact? (3) Does social media content relate to facility usage and mental health outcomes, and if so, where?Much of the action on mental healthcare reform takes place within the medical and legal communities. This work showcases the benefits of geographic research methods to enhance the understanding of mental healthcare system in the state of Virginia. The spatial association between mental health care access, population factors and the rate of measured mental health outcomes such as inpatient hospitalization and suicide are examined in this research using spatial statistical methods, to include regression modeling, spatial autocorrelation analysis, and temporal comparisons. The changes in utilization patterns and increase in overall utilization of Virginia’s state operated mental hospitals following the enactment of VA SB260, which expanded access to state inpatient facilities, reveals which regions were most impacted by the law and indicates greater fulfillment of unmet needs for inpatient care reforms. The findings support calls to repeal IMD exclusion laws as regions with higher proportions of Medicaid eligible populations experienced the greatest increase in utilization. This study also examined social media content from Twitter to expand previous research into social media and health and determined that content from Twitter data feeds can improve suicide prediction model performance and provided useful indicators in the geographic differences in population mental health across the State of Virginia."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["SPATIAL DIMENSIONS OF MENTAL HEALTH AND THE MENTAL HEALTH CARE SYSTEM IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:date.issued":["2023"],"dc:description.other":["This dissertation addresses three research questions regarding geographic differences in inpatient psychiatric facility usage and mental health outcomes in Virginia. These research questions are: (1) What is the relationship between geographic access to both state operated and community based mental health services, state facility usage and population mental health outcomes or indicators? (2) How and where has psychiatric facility utilization across Virginia changed after implementation of 2013’s mental health care reforms and does the data support the policy having its desired impact? (3) Does social media content relate to facility usage and mental health outcomes, and if so, where?Much of the action on mental healthcare reform takes place within the medical and legal communities. This work showcases the benefits of geographic research methods to enhance the understanding of mental healthcare system in the state of Virginia. The spatial association between mental health care access, population factors and the rate of measured mental health outcomes such as inpatient hospitalization and suicide are examined in this research using spatial statistical methods, to include regression modeling, spatial autocorrelation analysis, and temporal comparisons. The changes in utilization patterns and increase in overall utilization of Virginia’s state operated mental hospitals following the enactment of VA SB260, which expanded access to state inpatient facilities, reveals which regions were most impacted by the law and indicates greater fulfillment of unmet needs for inpatient care reforms. The findings support calls to repeal IMD exclusion laws as regions with higher proportions of Medicaid eligible populations experienced the greatest increase in utilization. This study also examined social media content from Twitter to expand previous research into social media and health and determined that content from Twitter data feeds can improve suicide prediction model performance and provided useful indicators in the geographic differences in population mental health across the State of Virginia."],"dc:identifier":["hdl:1920/13733"],"dc:subject":["health geography","IMD Exclusion","mental health care access","social media analytics"],"dc:title":["SPATIAL DIMENSIONS OF MENTAL HEALTH AND THE MENTAL HEALTH CARE SYSTEM IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA"],"dc:type":["Dissertation"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:51:56Z"}