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Does an integrated outreach intervention targeting multiple stages of early psychosis improve the identification of individuals at clinical high risk?
Author(s) -
McIlwaine Sarah V.,
Jordan Gerald,
Pruessner Marita,
Malla Ashok,
Faridi Kia,
Iyer Srividya N.,
Joober Ridha,
Shah Jai L.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
early intervention in psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.087
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1751-7893
pISSN - 1751-7885
DOI - 10.1111/eip.12750
Subject(s) - outreach , intervention (counseling) , referral , psychosis , medicine , psychiatry , service (business) , unit (ring theory) , identification (biology) , schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , service delivery framework , psychology , family medicine , botany , mathematics education , economy , political science , economics , law , biology
Aims To explore the impact of a targeted case identification intervention, with training and education regarding first‐episode psychosis and clinical high‐risk syndromes, on the referral and identification of those at high risk. Methods Using a historical control design, referral information from pre‐intervention and post‐intervention periods was collected via administrative data and clinician notes from a catchment‐based early psychosis service. Results A significant increase in the number of referrals sent to the service's clinical high‐risk unit was observed following the intervention ( P = 0.01). The proportion of referrals eligible was significantly higher post‐intervention ( P = 0.03), with the majority (26/44, 59.1%) referred via the first‐episode psychosis service unit. Conclusions An integrated outreach intervention for both first‐episode psychosis and the clinical high‐risk state was effective in increasing referrals of eligible cases to the service's at‐risk unit. Rather than being stage‐specific, targeted case identification strategies and service integration should span across the early stages of psychosis.