Improving Health and Wellness for People with Serious Mental Illness in Puerto Rico (BRIDGES)

Ponce Medical School Foundation

Status: Begins enrollment in 1 month

Conditions: Chronic Disease; Serious Mental Illness

Treatments: Behavioral: BRIDGES Healthcare Manager Intervention; Other: Enhanced Treatment as Usual (ETAU)

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Industry; NIH

Identifiers

NCT06859060

2U54MD007579-39 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

2308159485

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study evaluates the effectiveness of a culturally tailored intervention, Bridges to Better Health and Wellness (BRIDGES), aimed at reducing chronic disease disparities among Puerto Ricans with serious mental illness (SMI). Participants receive monthly sessions with health care managers to address patient-provider stigma and care coordination.

Full description

BRIDGES is a multi-level Healthcare Manager Intervention (HMI) that addresses both patient and provider barriers to healthcare. It includes culturally adapted modules to reduce stigma and promote chronic disease prevention. The study uses a hybrid type 1 effectiveness-implementation randomised controlled trial to test its impact on primary care service use, chronic disease outcomes and stigma reduction over 12 months.

Enrollment: 300 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 21+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Adults receiving psychiatric or psychological services at the Wellness Center or the Mayaguez Medical Center - Primary Care Diagnosed with at least one serious mental illness SMI (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, etc.) Have at least one risk factor or a diagnosis of a chronic health condition (e.g., diabetes, overweight, hypertension, etc.).

Be willing to receive or continue preventive medical care with a primary care physician.

Exclusion criteria

Have started psychiatric or mental health services at least one month before Have been diagnosed with a general mental health condition (e.g., Depression or Anxiety).

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

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300 participants in 2 patient groups

BRIDGES Intervention

Experimental group

Description:

Participants randomized to the experimental condition will receive the BRIDGES Healthcare Manager Intervention.

Treatment:

Behavioral: BRIDGES Healthcare Manager Intervention

Enhanced Treatment as Usual (ETAU)

Other group

Description:

Participants randomized to the control condition will receive standard psychiatric care with an informational brochure on accessing primary care providers.

Treatment:

Other: Enhanced Treatment as Usual (ETAU)