A multicenter randomized controlled trial of aftercare services for severe mental illness: study protocol

BMC Psychiatry

Study Protocol

Maziar Moradi-Lakeh¹  Masud Yunesian²  Arash Rashidian³  Mehdi Tehranidoost⁴  Homayoun Amini⁴  Vandad Sharifi⁴  Seyed Kazem Malakouti⁵  Ahmad Hajebi⁵  Mohammad Ghadiri Vasfi⁵  Yasaman Mottaghipour⁶ 

[1] Department of Community Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran;Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran;Department of Health Management and Economics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran;Department of Psychiatry and Psychiatry and Psychology Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, 13337-95914, Tehran, Iran;Mental Health Research Centre, Tehran Psychiatric Institute, Iran University of Medical Sciences, 15745-344, Tehran, Iran;Psychiatry Department, Imam Hosein Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran;

关键词: Mental Health Service;    Home Care;    Severe Mental Illness;    Assertive Community Treatment;    Severe Mental Disorder;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-244X-13-178

 received in 2011-12-13, accepted in 2013-06-25,  发布年份 2013

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundSevere mental illness is responsible for a significant proportion of burden of diseases in Iranian population. People with severe mental illnesses are more likely to have high rates of non-attendance at follow-up visits, and lack of an active follow-up system, particularly in the country’s urban areas that has resulted in the revolving door phenomenon of rehospitalizations. Therefore, there is an increasing need for implementation of effective and cost-effective aftercare services.Method/DesignThis is a randomized control trial with the primary hypothesis that aftercare services delivered to patients with severe mental illnesses in outpatient department and patient's home by a community care team would be more effective when compared to treatment as usual (TAU) in reducing length of hospital stay and any psychiatric hospitalization. Patients were recruited from three psychiatric hospitals in Iran. After obtaining informed written consent, they were randomly allocated into aftercare intervention and control (TAU) groups. Aftercare services included treatment follow-up (through either home care or telephone follow-up prompts for outpatient attendance), family psychoeducation, and patient social skills training that were provided by community mental health teams. Patients were followed for 12 months after discharge. The primary outcome measures were length of hospital stay and any hospitalization in the 12 month follow-up. Secondary outcome measures included patients' clinical global impression, global functioning, quality of life, and patient's satisfaction. The trial also allowed an assessment of direct cost-effectiveness of the aftercare services.DiscussionThis paper presents a protocol for an RCT of aftercare services delivered to patients with severe mental illnesses within patients' home or outpatient department. The findings of this study can influence policy and program planning for people with severe mental illnesses in Iran.Trial registrationIRCT201009052557N2

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Hajebi et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2013