EMERGENCY CARE AVOIDANCE - ETHNIC MATCHING AND PARTICIPATION IN MINORITY-SERVING PROGRAMS

Using data from a county level mental health service system, relations hips were examined between ethnic matching, program involvement and em ergency service use. When clients were matched with an ethnically simi lar clinician who was also proficient in their preferred language, the y had fewer emergency service visits than did clients who were unmatch ed on the basis of ethnicity and language. Equally if not more signifi cant than ethnicity or language matching was the client's program and the proportion of minority clients it served. Clients in programs serv ing a relatively large proportion of minority clients had fewer emerge ncy service visits than those in programs serving a smaller proportion of minority clients. More research is needed to document the impact o f matching along with greater attention to minority oriented programs.