Evaluating a Collaborative Care Model for the Treatment of Schizophrenia (EQUIP)
Completed · Not applicable
Conditions studied: Schizophrenia Disorders, Chronic Illness, Schizoaffective Disorder, Weight Gain
In brief
Policy makers and consumers are increasingly concerned about the quality and efficiency of care provided to individuals with severe, chronic illnesses such as schizophrenia. These illnesses are expensive to treat and present significant challenges to organizations that are responsible for providing effective care. Occurring in 1% of the United States population, schizophrenia accounts for 10% of permanently disabled people, and 2.5% of all healthcare expenditures. Clinical practice guidelines have been promulgated. Schizophrenia is treatable and outcomes can be substantially improved with the appropriate use of antipsychotic medication, caregiver education and counseling, vocational rehabilitation, and assertive treatment. However, in the VA and other mental health systems, many patients with schizophrenia receive substandard care. Methods are needed that improve the quality of usual care for this disorder while being feasible to implement at typical clinics. To date, most efforts to improve care for schizophrenia have focused on educating clinicians or changing the financing of care, and have had limited success. We believe a more fundamental approach should be tried. While there are many potential strategies, experience in chronic medical illness and mental health support the efficacy of specific approaches. Collaborative care models are one such approach. They are a blueprint for reorganizing practice, and involve changes in division of labor and responsibility, adoption of new care protocols, and increased attention to patients' needs. Although collaborative care models have been successful in other chronic medical conditions, they have not yet been studied in the treatment of schizophrenia. We have developed a collaborative care model for schizophrenia that builds on work in other disorders, and includes service delivery approaches that are known to be effective in schizophrenia. The model focuses on improving treatment through assertive care management, caregiver education and support, and standardized patient assessment with feedback of information to psychiatrists. This project, "EQUIP" (Enhancing Quality Utilization In Psychosis) is implementing collaborative care and evaluating its effectiveness in schizophrenia.
Key facts
- Study ID
- NCT00119574
- Run by
- US Department of Veterans Affairs
- People needed
- 443
- Starts
- 2002-01-01
- Expected to finish
- 2004-12-01
- Last updated by the study team
- 2015-04-07
Who can join
Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.
You may qualify if…
- Providers (Psychiatrists, Case Managers, Nurses):
- Working at one of the participating VA Mental Health Clinics
- Providers: 68 Patients: 375
- Patients:
- At least 18 years old
- Diagnosis of Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective, or schizophreniform disorder
- At least 2 treatment visits with a psychiatrist at the clinic during the previous 6 months.
You may not qualify if…
- None
Where it is running
- VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, West Los Angeles, CA — West Los Angeles, California, United States
Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov
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