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A Multi-Site Study of Strategies for Implementing Schizophrenia Guidelines

US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) logo

US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

Status

Completed

Conditions

Schizophrenia

Treatments

Behavioral: Test strategy for implementation guideline

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other U.S. Federal agency

Identifiers

NCT00013000
CPG 97-027

Details and patient eligibility

About

Schizophrenia, a chronic psychiatric disorder, is the second most frequent VA discharge diagnosis. Medication management practices for schizophrenia often are not guideline-concordant and place patients at risk for adverse outcomes. This project tests a new strategy to standard implementation for VHA Schizophrenia Guidelines.

Full description

Background:

Schizophrenia, a chronic psychiatric disorder, is the second most frequent VA discharge diagnosis. Medication management practices for schizophrenia often are not guideline-concordant and place patients at risk for adverse outcomes. This project tests a new strategy to standard implementation for VHA Schizophrenia Guidelines.

Objectives:

Research objectives are: (1) to compare the effectiveness of a conceptually-based, enhanced intervention to that of a basic educational strategy with regard to improving guideline adherence and patient compliance; (2) to compare the effectiveness of the two strategies with regard to improving symptom and side effect outcomes; (3) to determine the effect of the enhanced intervention on service utilization for acute exacerbations of schizophrenia; (4) to determine the extent to which guideline-concordant medication management improves patient outcomes; and (5) to examine providers' knowledge of and attitudes toward guidelines.

Methods:

Thirteen VA sites were considered for the study, and VistA data were extracted to assess baseline guideline performance. Seven sites were selected and received basic education about schizophrenia guidelines. Three of these sites were randomly selected to receive the enhanced intervention, employing a nurse coordinator to promote providers' guideline adherence and patients' treatment adherence. Subjects with an acute exacerbation of schizophrenia were enrolled and were interviewed at baseline and six months using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, the Schizophrenia Outcomes Module, and the Barnes Akathisia Scale. Data on guideline adherence were collected from medical records and VistA files. When data collection is completed, analyses will be conducted to determine the effectiveness of the enhanced intervention with regard to improving guideline adherence and patient outcomes.

Status:

The project is ongoing. To date, 401 subjects have been enrolled in the intervention study. The rate of completed follow-up assessments to date is 86 percent.

Enrollment

400 estimated patients

Sex

All

Ages

18 to 65 years old

Volunteers

No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Subjects must have a diagnosis of schizophrenia. 2. Subjects must have been admitted to an inpatient psychiatry unit or seen in an ambulatory care clinic or the Emergency Room at a study site for symptoms of acute exacerbation. 3. Must be able to provide informed consent themselves or informed consent by a guardian.

Exclusion Criteria:

Trial design

Primary purpose

Treatment

Allocation

Randomized

Interventional model

Parallel Assignment

Masking

Single Blind

400 participants in 1 patient group

Arm 1
Other group
Treatment:
Behavioral: Test strategy for implementation guideline

Trial contacts and locations

6

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Data sourced from clinicaltrials.gov

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