Multicriteria planning model for mental health service delivery

Decentralization of mental health services delivery through the implementation of community-based mental health centres has greatly increased the complexity in the administration of U.S. mental health programmes. Decision makers have to allocate limited resources between traditional hospital programmes and the community centres. Presents a goal-programming-planning model which allows the decision maker to analyse trade-offs between health-care objectives as well as to assess the budgetary and staff ramifications of various policy decisions. Illustrates the model through the use of a case example from a Midwestern U.S. mental health services programme.