This page describes the methodology and assumptions used to develop the data presented in the $COPE 360™ Tool
$COPE 360 is an interactive national and state-level societal cost intelligence platform developed from the Schizophrenia & Psychosis Action Alliance (S&PAA) Total Cost of Schizophrenia research program, caregiver impact studies, peer-reviewed literature, and publicly available economic and demographic datasets.¹ ²
The platform is designed to visualize and compare the societal impacts of schizophrenia across healthcare, housing, employment, caregiving, disability systems, homelessness, justice-system involvement, mortality, and quality-of-life impacts. Rather than focusing solely on medical expenditures, $COPE 360 reflects a broader societal perspective intended to support policy development, advocacy, care planning, funding discussions, and public education.
$COPE 360 was developed to translate complex societal cost research into a practical, interactive decision-support and visualization platform accessible to policymakers, researchers, advocates, health systems, caregivers, and public and community stakeholders.
The platform emerged from S&PAA’s Total Cost of Schizophrenia research program and related caregiver impact studies, which revealed that the societal impacts of schizophrenia extend far beyond healthcare into housing instability, caregiving impact, employment disruption, disability systems, homelessness, mortality, and justice-system involvement.¹ ²
Recognizing that these findings were difficult to operationalize through static reports alone, S&PAA developed $COPE 360 to make cross-system schizophrenia cost data more visible, accessible, comparable, and actionable at both the national and state levels.
$COPE 360 translates underlying research and economic modeling into interactive visualizations, comparative state analyses, and cross-system impact exploration tools intended to improve accessibility and practical application of societal cost data.
Measures within the platform are organized hierarchically across systems, subcategories, and individual metrics to support drill-down exploration and cross-system comparison.
The platform was designed to support:
The underlying modeling framework uses a prevalence-based societal cost-of-illness methodology to estimate the excess direct and indirect costs associated with schizophrenia spectrum disorders in the United States. Estimates incorporate national prevalence data, healthcare utilization patterns, caregiver impact findings, employment and productivity measures, unpaid labor, out-of-pocket expenses, disability utilization, housing and homelessness data, justice-system interactions, mortality-related effects, and quality-of-life impacts.¹
Data sources informing the platform include targeted literature reviews, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) analyses, governmental datasets, public health reports, labor and wage indices, and state-adjusted cost and demographic data.¹ ³ ⁴ ⁵
Where possible, preference was given to nationally representative, multi-site, peer-reviewed, or governmental data sources, with state-specific adjustments applied when sufficiently robust localized data were available.
$COPE 360 incorporates analyses across multiple residential and care settings, including:
Caregiver-related impacts include unpaid labor, absenteeism, presenteeism, lost productivity, out-of-pocket expenses, major life event impacts, career disruptions, and health-related impacts associated with supporting individuals living with schizophrenia.
State-level estimates are adjusted using localized demographic, wage, and cost-of-living indicators where available. These adjustments allow users to compare how schizophrenia-related societal impacts vary across states and systems while maintaining consistency with national estimates.¹
All estimates presented within $COPE 360 reflect modeled societal impact based on currently available evidence and should be interpreted as comparative and evidence-informed estimates rather than precise accounting measures. As with all societal cost modeling, some domains rely on national assumptions or previously published datasets adjusted to current-year dollars due to limitations in available state-specific data.¹
The estimates and visualizations presented within $COPE 360 are based on modeled societal impact using the best currently available evidence and should be interpreted as directional and comparative intelligence rather than precise accounting measures. As with all large-scale societal cost modeling, findings are influenced by the availability, quality, consistency, and recency of underlying data sources.¹
Some inputs incorporated into the underlying modeling framework were derived from previously published studies or governmental datasets that predate 2024 and were adjusted to current-year dollars using accepted economic inflation indices. While this approach supports consistency across domains, changes in utilization patterns, service delivery systems, policy environments, or population dynamics occurring after the original data collection periods may not be fully captured.¹
State-level estimates are informed by localized demographic, wage, cost-of-living, homelessness, disability, and mortality indicators where available. However, not all domains have sufficiently robust or standardized state-specific datasets. In some instances, national estimates or proxy adjustment methodologies were applied to support cross-state comparison and modeling consistency.¹
Several societal impacts associated with schizophrenia remain difficult to fully quantify, including:
As a result, some dimensions of impact are likely underestimated. Some platform measures represent modeled indicators, derived calculations, or grouped impact categories rather than direct expenditures or observable events.
Caregiver impact findings integrated into the platform are based in part on self-reported survey data and may be subject to recall bias, response bias, participation bias, or variability in caregiver interpretation of questions and experiences.² Additionally, web-based survey participation may not fully represent all caregiver populations or socioeconomic groups.²
$COPE 360 reflects a societal perspective intended to support public understanding, policy discussion, advocacy, strategic planning, and research translation. The platform is not intended to function as a clinical diagnostic tool, actuarial forecasting system, reimbursement calculator, or individualized economic prediction model.
The platform will continue evolving as new research, updated prevalence estimates, state-level datasets, and longitudinal evidence become available. S&PAA intends for $COPE 360 to serve as a living evidence and visualization framework that supports ongoing refinement of how schizophrenia’s societal impacts are measured, understood, and addressed.
By integrating fragmented cross-sector data into a unified analytical framework, $COPE 360 is intended to support a more complete understanding of schizophrenia’s societal impact and the potential value of coordinated, treatment-focused, and recovery-oriented interventions.
$COPE 360™
The Schizophrenia Cost Perspective Engine
Developed by the Schizophrenia & Psychosis Action Alliance as part of the Total Cost of Schizophrenia research initiative.
Methodology, estimates, metric definitions, and analytical structures reflect currently available evidence, economic modeling, caregiver impact research, and state-adjusted analyses as of May 2026. Estimates may be refined as additional datasets, updated prevalence estimates, and new research become available.
$COPE 360 is intended to support public understanding, policy discussion, advocacy, strategic planning, and research translation. The platform is not intended to function as a clinical diagnostic tool or individualized financial prediction model.
Version 1.0 — May 2026
