This study will test the efficacy of a brief intervention delivered to adults with co-occurring medical and mental health conditions by community health workers designed to avoid 30-day readmissions following medical hospitalization. Adult inpatients of a university hospital will be randomly assigned to the intervention plus services as usual versus services as usual alone, and assessed at baseline and 30 days following discharge. Chi square will be used to assess the primary outcome of admission within 30 days of discharge and changes in patient activation, mental health symptoms, medication adherence, and perceived competence for health maintenance. Also examined will be study condition differences in post-discharge inpatient service utilization and cost.
