A Randomized Controlled Trial of Mental Health Peer-Led Education (BRIDGES)

University of Illinois

Status: Completed

Conditions: Mental Disorders

Treatments: Behavioral: BRIDGES Peer-Led Education

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; Other U.S. Federal agency

Identifiers

NCT01297985

H133B050003b (Other Grant/Funding Number)

2006-0024

Details and patient eligibility

About

This randomized controlled trial tests the efficacy of a mental health peer-led educational intervention called BRIDGES (Building Recovery of Individual Dreams and Goals through Education and Support). The BRIDGES program is a 10-week, manualized education course designed to provide basic information about the etiology and treatment of mental illness, self-help skills, and recovery principles in order to empower participants to return to valued social roles within their communities. BRIDGES is a peer-led program and all instructors are adults with mental illnesses. For study purposes, the 10-week course was modified to 8-weeks, meeting 2 1/2 hours once a week.

Hypothesis #1: Compared to wait-list controls, intervention participants will report increased feelings of psychological empowerment.

Hypothesis #2: Compared to wait-list controls, intervention participants will report increased feelings of hopefulness.

Hypothesis #3: Compared to wait-list controls, intervention participants will report enhanced coping ability.

Hypothesis #4: Compared to wait-list controls, intervention participants will report enhanced recovery.

Hypothesis #5: Compared to wait-list controls, intervention participants will report greater ability to advocate for themselves with health care providers.

Hypothesis #6: Compared to wait-list controls, those in the BRIDGES education course will report increased knowledge of the causes and treatment of mental illness and recovery principles.

Full description

Eligibility criteria included having a diagnosis of serious mental illness and experiencing severe functional impairment in one or more life roles. All study participants completed telephone interviews at three points in time: study entry (pre-intervention); 8-weeks later (immediate post-intervention); and 6-months after intervention (approximately 8 months after study entry). Blinded interviewers administered valid and reliable outcome assessments that measured changes in subjects' knowledge about mental illness; emotional well-being; empowerment; hopefulness; self-advocacy; and recovery. All study participants were compensated for their time at each interview. All BRIDGES instructors were people in recovery from serious mental illnesses who were certified and experienced BRIDGES teachers. Fidelity to the BRIDGES curriculum was assessed on an ongoing basis throughout the study.

Enrollment: 428 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Clinical diagnosis of mental illness
• Disability due to mental illness
• Age 18 years or older
• Willingness to receive the intervention

Exclusion criteria

• Inability to understand spoken English

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

---

428 participants in 2 patient groups

BRIDGES Intervention

Experimental group

Description:

The BRIDGES program is a 10-week, manualized education course designed to provide basic education about the etiology and treatment of mental illness, self-help skills, and recovery principles in order to empower participants to return to valued social roles within their communities. BRIDGES is a peer-led program and all instructors are adults with mental illnesses. For this intervention study, the BRIDGES curriculum was modified from a 10-week course to an 8-week course, meeting for 2 1/2 hours once a week.

Treatment:

Behavioral: BRIDGES Peer-Led Education

Comparison Wait-list Group

No Intervention group

Description:

Participants assigned to the comparison group were in a delayed treatment condition in which they continued in public services as usual, but were offered the chance to attend the BRIDGES program after their final research interview.