Factors influencing policymaker decision making in the behavioral health-related legislative process: A scoping review

Behavioral healthcare treatments are effective, yet access remains limited across the country. Policymakers are in a unique position to close coverage gaps, but most behavioral health-related legislation fails. Past research has examined ways to influence legislator voting, but knowledge is limited regarding factors influencing the behavioral health legislative process. Thus, a scoping review of peer-reviewed literature was conducted using 16 databases and Google Scholar. Results indicated that internal characteristics of the policymakers as well as external forces in their environments influenced the behavioral health-related legislative process. These results provide important implications for those who want to improve behavioral health policy.