Compensatory Strategies Applied to Cognitive Impairment in Schizophrenia (CAT-Denmark)

University of Southern Denmark (SDU)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Schizophrenia

Treatments: Behavioral: Cognitive Adaptation Training

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01055509

UNR-2008037-1

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is to determine whether Cognitive Adaptation Training are effective in comparison with conventional treatment, focusing on social functions, symptoms, relapse, re-hospitalisation, and quality of life in outpatients with schizophrenia.

Full description

It is estimated that approximately 80% of patients with schizophrenia have reduced cognitive functions, representing problems with attention, verbal memory, short-term memory and executive functions (1-3). These impairments might have an impact on the patients ability to complete rehabilitation programmes, apply learned strategies to social problems, develop work skills and manage daily life (4,5). The effect of Cognitive Adaptation Training has been tested as a psychosocial treatment including training of compensatory strategies in order to sequence patient's adaptive behaviour, showing promising results concerning improved social functions (6). There are however no solid evidence for these statements. The existing few studies investigating the effect of Cognitive Adaptation Training (6-8) are underpowered (small sample sizes) and have a lack of younger patients, which limits the conclusions that can be drawn from the results of the improvement. The present trial employs a prospective design of 26 weeks with a follow-up period of 9 months after inclusion. The study will enroll 164 consecutively recruited participants from three Danish out-patient teams for young adults with a first episode of psychosis.

Enrollment: 65 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 70 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Clinical diagnosis of schizophrenia.
• More than one year from referral to the psychiatric clinic.
• Receive mental medication and continual psychosocial treatment.
• Participants who have signed informed consent.

Exclusion criteria

• Participants who don't understand or speak Danish.
• Participants who live at an institution or who are long-term hospitalized.
• Participants who are unwillingly to complete protocol.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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65 participants in 2 patient groups

Cognitive Adaptation Training

Experimental group

Description:

Cognitive adaptation training and treatment as usual

Treatment:

Behavioral: Cognitive Adaptation Training

Treatment as ususal

No Intervention group

Description:

Pharmacological treatment, weekly contact to professionals (often in patient's homes), psychoeducation, social skill training in groups and psychosocial intervention with relatives.