PsyCARE study: assessing impact, cost-effectiveness, and transdiagnostic factors of the Italian ministry of health’s “psychological bonus” policy

BMC Psychology

Study Protocol

Ilaria M.A. Benzi¹  Vittorio Lingiardi²  Angelo Compare³  Antonino La Tona³  Gianluca Lo Coco⁴  Santo Di Nuovo⁵  David Lazzari⁶  Laura Parolin⁷ 

[1] Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy;Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, and Health Studies, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy;Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy;Department of Psychology, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy;Department of Science of Education, University of Catania, Catania, Italy;National Board of Italian Psychologists (CNOP), Rome, Italy;National Board of Italian Psychologists (CNOP), Rome, Italy;Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Piazza dell’Ateneo Nuovo, 1, 20126, Milan, Italy;

关键词: Psychological intervention;    Mental health;    Psychotherapy;    PsyCARE;    Transdiagnostic factors;    Epistemic trust;    Emotion regulation;    Effectiveness;    Anxiety;    Depression;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s40359-023-01345-6

 received in 2023-06-27, accepted in 2023-09-25,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe prevalence of anxiety and depression disorders is surging worldwide, prompting a pressing demand for psychological interventions, especially in less severe cases. Responding to this need, the Italian government implemented the “Psychological Bonus” (PB) policy, allotting 25 million euros for mental health support. This policy entitles individuals to a minimum of four to twelve psychological sessions. In collaboration with the National Board of Italian Psychologists, our study assesses this policy’s effectiveness. Indeed, the PsyCARE study aims to examine the utilization of the Psychological Bonus, evaluate its impact on adult and adolescent participants’ psychological well-being through pre- and post-intervention assessments and six-month follow-up, and conduct a longitudinal cost-effectiveness analysis of this policy. A secondary aim is to investigate the influence of these interventions on transdiagnostic factors, including emotion regulation and epistemic trust.MethodsThe study involves licensed psychotherapists and their patients, both adults and adolescents, benefiting from the Psychological Bonus. Data collection is underway and set to conclude in December 2023. Psychotherapists will provide diagnostic information and assess patient functioning. In addition, patients will be evaluated on mental health aspects such as clinical symptoms, emotion regulation, epistemic trust, and quality of life. We will employ linear mixed-effects models to analyze the outcomes, accounting for both fixed and random effects to capture the hierarchical structure of the data.DiscussionWe anticipate the study’s findings will highlight reduced psychological distress and improved quality of life for participants and demonstrate the Psychological Bonus policy’s cost-effectiveness. The study will gather data on the role of specific versus nonspecific therapeutic factors in psychotherapy while adopting a patient-tailored approach to identify effective therapeutic elements and examine transdiagnostic factors. Overall, this study’s findings will guide future measures within the Italian healthcare system, fostering a psychological health culture and providing valuable insights to the broader public.Study registrationhttps://osf.io/6zk2j

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023. corrected publication 2023

【 图 表 】

Fig. 9