Health disparities impact individuals, families and communities, and result from pervasive social, economic and/or environmental disadvantages, including poverty, structural racism and discrimination. Achieving health equity means every person has a fair and just opportunity to become as healthy as possible.
The Center for Behavioral Health and Resilience offers a team of experts providing leadership and subject matter expertise to drive innovations in behavioral health and resilience. We are a trusted partner, advisor and thought leader committed to increasing access to high-quality, cost-effective care through advanced evidence-based practices in behavioral health.
The Optum Serve Center for Behavioral Health and Resilience:
- Relies on evidence
- Drives innovation
- Promotes best practices
- Builds relationships
- Aligns stakeholders
- Provides technical assistance
- Furthers transformation
Our expertise includes:
- Resilience (person-centered and community-based)
- Peer to peer network building
- Community engagement
- Health equity
- COVID-19
- Behavioral health integration
- Substance use disorders
- Opioid use and treatment
- Anxiety and depression
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Bipolar disorder
- Suicide prevention
Our populations of focus are:
- Rural
- Veterans
- LGBTQ+
- Children and adolescents
- Justice impacted populations
- Individuals with serious mental illness
- Older adults
- People with disabilities
- Pregnancy and postpartum
- Individuals with chronic conditions
Who we are
The Center for Behavioral Health and Resilience’s mission is to advance innovation and thought leadership in person-centered behavioral health. This is achieved through research, program design, implementation and knowledge dissemination. We address contemporary behavioral health challenges, transforming the health care system to meet the needs of individuals and communities across the continuum of care.
The Center also focuses on building resilience proactively to protect against times of crisis. This approach is grounded in both individual and community-level wellness and purpose, encompassing physical, behavioral, psychological, social and environmental factors.
Center for Behavioral Health and Resilience innovation spotlights
United Through Resilience
Supporting and building resilience and well-being
United Through Resilience supports the well-being of teams in various workplace settings where work demands may lead to stress, anxiety and health risks. This easy-to-implement, evidence-based approach includes a dedicated 1-800 line, smart phone app and peer-to-peer access. Optum Serve is dedicated to creating solutions where support meets need.
Indiana Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Workforce Capacity Assessment and Planning Grant
We increase SUD provider capacity and ensure equitable access to treatment services.
We supported Indiana in identifying opportunities to increase SUD capacity and ensure equitable access to treatment services.
Optum Serve Consulting (OSC) supported Indiana in developing an action plan for increasing SUD provider capacity. OSC collected and analyzed SUD provider data, conducted a provider survey, and led provider and member focus groups.
Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines
Develop and update evidence-based clinical practice guidelines.
Since 2012, OSC has worked with the Veterans Administration and Department of Defense to develop and update evidence-based clinical practice guidelines across a range of 24 chronic diseases and conditions to date. These include SUDs, PTSD, opioids for chronic pain, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, major depressive disorder and management of patients at risk of suicide. In facilitation and support of expert panels comprised of clinicians and other health professionals, we use rigorous methodologies for the following:
- Key question development
- Systematic literature reviews
- Evidence quality ratings
- The GRADE process for recommendation development
- Algorithm development
- Production of guidelines documents and toolkit materials
Meet our experts
Insights
Issue brief: Response to COVID-19 disparities
OptumServe leveraged data and analytics to evaluate why health disparities occur and how to address them to drive better health outcomes across all populations.
Social determinants of health
Complete the data picture.
COVID-19 Area Vulnerability Index
Prioritize resources and optimize care to fight COVID-19.
Priority Identification Vaccine Operating Tool (PIVOT)
PIVOT provides the data analytics and visualization needed to optimize planning, administration and monitoring of vaccines.
Vaccine Outreach - Implementing Community Engagement (VOICE)
VOICE addresses vaccine hesitancy in at-risk and vulnerable populations.