Enhancing Mental Health Outcomes for Patients With Psychosis in Malawi Through Community-based Rehabilitation
- Conditions
- Psychosis
- Interventions
- Behavioral: Adapted ENHANCE InterventionBehavioral: Enhanced Usual Care
- Registration Number
- NCT06080477
- Lead Sponsor
- University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
- Brief Summary
The overall aim of the proposed study is to determine the feasibility, acceptability, fidelity, and preliminary effectiveness of the adapted nurse-led, community-based rehabilitation treatment model for community-dwelling individuals living with psychosis in Blantyre, Malawi using a pilot randomized controlled trial.
- Detailed Description
Psychosis exacts a heavy morbidity and mortality toll worldwide, but especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Psychotic disorders are one of the most common presenting complaints for individuals admitted to specialty mental health services in many LMICs. Psychotic disorders typically have onset in early adulthood and a chronic course, meaning patients suffer from many years of poor functionality, disability, and lost productivity. Indeed, psychotic disorders remain among the 15 leading causes of disability globally. The chronicity and severity of psychotic disorders exert a heavy burden on family as relatives frequently have to assume caregiver roles in LMIC where access to formal mental health care is limited.
Despite the significant toll of psychosis in LMICs, treatment options are extremely limited and focus heavily on acute, time-limited inpatient stabilization. This focus fails to consider the demonstrated need for long-term post-acute outpatient treatment and community-based rehabilitation to improve outcomes and prevent relapse. Contextual community factors such as reliable continued access to mental health care, stigma and its negative impact on medication adherence, inadequate support, and family conflict are key risk factors for subsequent relapse upon discharge into the community. Research has recommended the need for community interventions to minimize medication non-adherence and limit relapse and readmission.
Community-based rehabilitation (CBR) directly addresses the need for a concerted approach to post-acute community-based care for people with psychosis in low-resource settings. CBR is a general evidence-based approach for the long-term treatment and support of individuals with a broad range of disabilities in resource-constrained settings that is particularly well suited to address the needs of those with psychosis. CBR aims to improve the quality of life of individuals living with disability by supporting medical care engagement, addressing functional goals, and encouraging social inclusion within their families and communities. CBR is amenable to delivery by a range of personnel and involves collaboration between caregivers, community members, and available public sector services to facilitate the rehabilitation of patients.
Accordingly, in this protocol the investigators will pilot-test an adaptation of the evidence-based Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) treatment model specifically to address the needs of community-dwelling individuals with psychosis in Malawi. Specifically, investigators will complete a pilot randomized controlled trial to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, fidelity, and preliminary effectiveness of the adapted CBR treatment model. This work will provide a critical advance in establishing the evidence base for community-based treatment models for people living with psychosis outside of the context of acute inpatient stabilization so as to enhance rehabilitation, functioning, and quality of life.
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- RECRUITING
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 60
Not provided
Not provided
Study & Design
- Study Type
- INTERVENTIONAL
- Study Design
- PARALLEL
- Arm && Interventions
Group Intervention Description Adapted ENHANCE Intervention Adapted ENHANCE Intervention Nurse-delivered community-based treatment model for people living with psychosis in the community, coordinated with the usual outpatient care Enhanced usual care Enhanced Usual Care Continue with usual outpatient care, enhanced with additional feedback and clinical recommendations to the outpatient treatment team
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Recruitment Rate (Recruitment Feasibility) Baseline This measure is the ability to successfully enroll people with lived experience (PWLE) in the pilot intervention. Feasibility will be evaluated by measuring the recruitment rate (number of patients approached in order to accrue the final sample).
Proportion of participants retained in the study (Retention Feasibility) 12 months Feasibility will be evaluated by measuring the proportion of participants retained in the study (number of patients enrolled at baseline who are still enrolled in the trial through 12 months).
Proportion of Completed Intervention Sessions (Intervention Attendance Fidelity) 12 months The total number of intervention sessions completed, out of the number of sessions expected to be completed.
Number of Participants Who Were Either Very Satisfied or Somewhat Satisfied with the Intervention (Intervention Acceptability) Conclusion of study The number of patients who were either very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with the intervention among all participants who received the intervention. Satisfaction will be measured on a 4-point Likert scale where 1 indicates high satisfaction and 4 indicates high dissatisfaction.
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Internalized stigma 12 months Internalized stigma will be evaluated using the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Inventory (ISMI). A total score is calculated by taking an average of the responses on the items (range=1 to 4). Higher total scores indicate greater internalized stigma.
Psychosis Symptom Response 12 months Psychosis symptom response will be defined as a ≥20% reduction in symptoms from baseline as measured using the Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale (PANSS) total score. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) has three subscales: positive (score range 7-49), negative (score range 7-49), and general psychopathology (score range 16-112). The PANSS positive symptom sub-scale is comprised of 7 items rated on a scale of 1-7, representing positive symptoms of schizophrenia. The PANSS negative symptom subscale is comprised of 7 items rated on a scale of 1-7 representing the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, and the general psychopathology subscale is comprised of 16 items rated on a scale of 1-7 representing symptoms of general psychopathology in mental illness. Scores reported are change in symptoms per week, relative to baseline.
Psychosis Symptom Remission 12 months Psychosis symptom remission will be defined based on the standard Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale (PANSS) definition of minimal or no symptoms on items G5, G9, N1, N4, N6, and P1-3. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) has three subscales: positive (score range 7-49), negative (score range 7-49), and general psychopathology (score range 16-112). The PANSS positive symptom sub-scale is comprised of 7 items rated on a scale of 1-7, representing positive symptoms of schizophrenia. The PANSS negative symptom subscale is comprised of 7 items rated on a scale of 1-7 representing the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, and the general psychopathology subscale is comprised of 16 items rated on a scale of 1-7 representing symptoms of general psychopathology in mental illness. Scores reported are change in symptoms per week, relative to baseline.
Clinical Improvement 12 months Clinical improvement will be evaluated using the Clinical Global Impression-Improvement score (CGI-I). The CGI-I is a 1-7 scale, designed to evaluate improvement through a comparison with the initial assessment of the patient at baseline. Possible ratings range from "very much improved" (score of 1) to "very much worse" (score of 7).
Overall Functioning 12 months Level of functioning will be evaluated using the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS 2.0 12-item version). The WHODAS 2.0 measures general disability related to multiple domains (i.e., understanding and communicating, getting around, self care, getting along with people, life activities, work/school, participation in society). Total scores range from 1 (no disability) to 5 (extreme/cannot do), with higher scores indicating more impairment.
Quality of Life based on Short-Form 8 measure 12 months Quality of life will be evaluated using the Short Form-8 (SF-8). The SF-8 is a shorter, 8-item questionnaire that covers the same eight domains as the full SF-36. The 8 items are scored from 1 (not at all confident) to 5 (very confident). Higher scores are indicative of greater ability to manage symptoms.
Change in psychosis symptoms from baseline Baseline,12 months Change in psychosis symptoms from baseline will be evaluated using the Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale (PANSS). The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) has three subscales: positive (score range 7-49), negative (score range 7-49), and general psychopathology (score range 16-112). The PANSS positive symptom sub-scale is comprised of 7 items rated on a scale of 1-7, representing positive symptoms of schizophrenia. The PANSS negative symptom subscale is comprised of 7 items rated on a scale of 1-7 representing the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, and the general psychopathology subscale is comprised of 16 items rated on a scale of 1-7 representing symptoms of general psychopathology in mental illness. Scores reported are change in symptoms per week, relative to baseline.
Trial Locations
- Locations (1)
Queen Elizabeth Central Hosptial
🇲🇼Blantyre, Malawi