Digital Media Versus Standard Method of Communication to Examine Engagement of Patients in Community Early Intervention Psychosis (EIP) Services

This study will examine whether or not the use of digital communication methods (text messages and emails) improves patient engagement with Early Intervention Psychosis (EIP) Services, compared to standard communication methods (letters and telephone calls).

One of the biggest challenges of psychiatric services is patient disengagement. People with psychosis, are often difficult to engage in community based mental health services (CMHTs). Patient's who disengage from psychiatric care often have higher social care needs, are often more unwell and are more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act compared to those who engage. It is important to examine the reasons for this for both research and clinical reasons to establish the effectiveness of the service to its users. Importance must be placed on the clinician's perspective of the engagement; the patient's perspective is vital.

This study is a pilot two-arm pragmatic Randomised Control Trial to examine the feasibility of assessing engagement of EIP services through different communication methods. Patients and care-coordinators will use self-reported scales to measure engagement to determine whether this improves through the use of different communication methods.

Patients will be asked to consent to being randomly allocated to one of two groups:

(i.) Receive letters, phone calls and voicemail's from their care coordinator for standard appointments.

OR

(ii.) Receive text messages and emails from their care-coordinator for standard appointments.

Patients eligible for this study will be in their first six months of care under an EIP CMHT and who have consented to take part. They will be aged 18-35, not a hospital inpatient, have access to the Internet, a mobile phone and who are fluent in the English language.

Care-coordinators will assess the feasibility and acceptability of the design and procedures and determine an effective sample size calculation for a future large scale pragmatic Randomised Controlled Trial.