The Effectiveness of Assertive Community Treatment on Schizophrenic Patients

Shanghai Mental Health Center

Status: Completed

Conditions: Schizophrenia

Treatments: Combination Product: Assertive community treatment; Combination Product: Basic public health services.

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04511663

WeiboZhang

Details and patient eligibility

About

Assertive community treatment (ACT) is a community-based, patient-centered, and rehabilitation-oriented model based on multidisciplinary service teams. It has been proved to be suitable for the management of patients with severe mental disorder in the community. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effectiveness of ACT in an urban district of Shanghai with a larger sample size and a 24-month duration of follow up. We hypothesized that patients assigned into ACT would show better improvement in psychiatric symptoms and social function.

Full description

Assertive community treatment (ACT) is a community-based, patient-centered, and rehabilitation-oriented model based on multidisciplinary service teams. It has been proved to be suitable for the management of patients with severe mental disorder in the community. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effectiveness of ACT in an urban district of Shanghai with a larger sample size and a 24-month duration of follow up. We hypothesized that patients assigned into ACT would show better improvement in psychiatric symptoms and social function.The study protocol was approved by the Institutional Review Board in Shanghai Mental Health Center.

Aim of the study: 1.1 To explore the effectiveness of assertive community treatment in patients with schizophrenia. 1.2 The patients were followed up for 24 months to explore the duration of ACT.

Introduction of the study: Patients who previously diagnosed as schizophrenia according to International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision (ICD-10) in the psychiatric hospitals would receive basic public health service in the community. The selected schizophrenic patients were randomly assigned into intervention group and control group by a computer randomization algorithm. During the following 2 years, the control group received basic public health services in the community while the intervention group received ACT. Clinical assessments were conducted at baseline and every 6 months till the end of the 2-year study. A single-blind method was used, in which all the assessments were independently completed by trained psychiatrists who didn't know the grouping.The Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale (PANSS) and the Personal and Social Performance Scale (PSP) were measured at baseline and every 6 months during the study.

Enrollment: 198 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 50 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

1. aged between 18 and 50 years old;
2. course of disease between 2 and 20 years;
3. living with family members who can function as their caregivers;
4. disease condition was stable and the total score of the Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale (PANSS) is less than 60.

Exclusion criteria

1. women during pregnancy;
2. having mental retardation or psychoactive substance-induced mental disorders;
3. having serious physical condition.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

---

198 participants in 2 patient groups

intervention group

Active Comparator group

Description:

The intervention group received assertive community treatment, in which the team consisted of psychiatrists, nurses, clinical psychologists, social workers, rehabilitation teachers.

Treatment:

Combination Product: Assertive community treatment

control group

Other group

Description:

The control group received basic public health services which is regular medical follow-up including symptom and medication evaluation, social function evaluation and physical examination after hospital discharge.

Treatment:

Combination Product: Basic public health services.