Sociodemographic and clinical predictors of delay to and length of stay with early intervention for psychosis service: findings from the CRIS-FEP study.

PURPOSE: We investigated the influence of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics on delay to early intervention service (EIS) and the length of stay (LOS) with EIS. METHODS: We used incidence data linked to the Clinical Record Interactive Search-First Episode Psychosis (CRIS-FEP) study. We followed the patients from May 2010 to March 2016. We performed multivariable Cox regression to estimate hazard ratios of delay to EIS. Negative binomial regression was used to determine LOS with EIS by sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, controlling for confounders. RESULTS: 343 patients were eligible for an EIS, 34.1% of whom did not receive the service. Overall, the median delay to EIS was 120 days (IQR; 15-1668); and the median LOS was 130.5 days (IQR 0-663). We found that women (adj.HR 0.58; 95%C I 0.42-0.78), living alone (adj.HR: 0.63; 95% CI 0.43-0.92) and ethnicity ('Other': adj.HR 0.47; 95% CI 0.23-0.98) were associated with prolonged delay to EIS. However, family involvement in help-seeking for psychosis (adj.HR 1.37; 95% CI 1.01-1.85) was strongly associated with a shorter delay to EIS. Patients who have used mental health services previously also experienced long delays to EIS. CONCLUSIONS: Our analyses highlight the link between sociodemographic status, help-seeking behaviours, and delay to EIS. Our findings also show the vulnerability faced by those with a previous mental health problem who later develop psychosis in receiving specialist treatment for psychosis. Initiatives that ameliorate indicators of social disadvantage are urgently needed to reduce health inequalities and improve clinical outcomes.

Multidimensional and intergenerational impact of Severe Mental Disorders.

BACKGROUND: Severe Mental Disorders (SMDs) affect multiple generations although this is poorly studied. The aim of this study was to investigate the intergenerational and multidimensional impacts of SMD in rural Ethiopia. METHODS: This comparative study was nested within an existing population-based cohort study. We collected data from a total 5762 family members of 532 households (266 households with at least one family member with SMD and 266 sex and age matched mentally well controls from the neighborhood) in 2019. The main outcomes were multidimensional poverty, mortality, food insecurity, and family satisfaction. FINDINGS: Multidimensional poverty Index was higher in the households of persons with SMD (74·44%) than the comparison households (38·35%). School attendance was lower in children of people with SMD (63·28%) than children of the comparisons (78·08%). The median years of schooling was also lower among children of people with SMD than the controls. This lower attendance was also true among siblings of people with SMD (35·52%) than the comparisons (49·33%). Over the course of 20 years, family members who have a person with SMD in their household had 23% increased risk of death compared to family members who did not have a person with SMD in their household. Severe food insecurity was also higher in the SMD households (20·68%) than the comparison (13·53%) while family satisfaction was lower. INTERPRETATION: Families of people with SMD experience pervasive multidimensional and intergenerational impacts. Interventions should consider the broader family social and healthcare needs of the broader family.

Side-effect monitoring of continuing LAI antipsychotic medication in UK adult mental health services.

BACKGROUND: Long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotic medications are used to optimise treatment outcomes in schizophrenia. Guaranteed medication delivery increases the responsibility of prescribers to monitor and manage adverse effects. METHODS: In the context of a quality improvement programme conducted by the Prescribing Observatory for Mental Health, a clinical audit addressed documented side-effect monitoring in patients prescribed continuing LAI antipsychotic medication under the care of United Kingdom adult mental health services. RESULTS: A total of 62 mental health services submitted data on 5169 patients prescribed LAI antipsychotic medication for more than a year. An assessment of side effects had been documented in the past year in 2304 (45%) cases. Post hoc analysis showed that extrapyramidal side effects were more likely to have been assessed and found to be present in those patients prescribed LAI haloperidol, flupentixol or zuclopenthixol. There was little other targeting of assessments to the known side effects profiles of individual LAI antipsychotic medications, but when dysphoria had been assessed it was most commonly found with LAI haloperidol treatment and when weight gain, sexual and prolactin-related side effects had been assessed, they were more often identified with LAI paliperidone. CONCLUSION: The data suggest a relatively low frequency of side-effect assessments, largely untargeted. This is likely to result in many adverse effects going unrecognised and unmanaged, thus failing to tackle their potential to confound mental state assessment and adversely affect physical health and adherence. Patients receiving LAI antipsychotic medication have regular contact with a healthcare professional who administers the medication, which provides an opportunity to potentially remedy this situation.

Change in incidence rates for psychosis in different ethnic groups in south London: findings from the Clinical Record Interactive Search-First Episode Psychosis (CRIS-FEP) study.

BACKGROUND: A higher incidence of psychotic disorders has been consistently reported among black and other minority ethnic groups, particularly in northern Europe. It is unclear whether these rates have changed over time. METHODS: We identified all individuals with a first episode psychosis who presented to adult mental health services between 1 May 2010 and 30 April 2012 and who were resident in London boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark. We estimated age-and-gender standardised incidence rates overall and by ethnic group, then compared our findings to those reported in the Aetiology and Ethnicity of Schizophrenia and Other Psychoses (ÆSOP) study that we carried out in the same catchment area around 10 years earlier. RESULTS: From 9109 clinical records we identified 558 patients with first episode psychosis. Compared with ÆSOP, the overall incidence rates of psychotic disorder in southeast London have increased from 49.4 (95% confidence interval (CI) 43.6-55.3) to 63.1 (95% CI 57.3-69.0) per 100 000 person-years at risk. However, the overall incidence rate ratios (IRR) were reduced in some ethnic groups: for example, IRR (95% CI) for the black Caribbean group reduced from 6.7 (5.4-8.3) to 2.8 (2.1-3.6) and the 'mixed' group from 2.7 (1.8-4.2) to 1.4 (0.9-2.1). In the black African group, there was a negligible difference from 4.1 (3.2-5.3) to 3.5 (2.8-4.5). CONCLUSIONS: We found that incidence rates of psychosis have increased over time, and the IRR varied by the ethnic group. Future studies are needed to investigate more changes over time and determinants of change.

Ethnic variations in duration of untreated psychosis: report from the CRIS-FEP study.

OBJECTIVES: There is inconsistent evidence on the influence of ethnicity on duration of untreated psychosis (DUP). We investigated ethnic differences in DUP in a large epidemiological dataset of first episode psychosis patients in an inner city area of south London, UK. METHODS: We analysed data on 558 first episode psychosis patients at the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, between 2010 and 2012. We performed multivariable logistic regression to estimate the odds of a short DUP (≤ 6 months) by ethnic group, controlling for confounders. RESULTS: There was no evidence that ethnicity is associated with duration of untreated psychosis. However, we found evidence that a short DUP was strongly associated with age, living circumstances, and pathways to care variables (involuntary admission, out of office hour contact, accident and emergency referral, criminal justice agency referral and family involvement in help-seeking). Conversely, a long DUP was associated with report of social isolation, living alone, being single and General Practitioner referral. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that indicators of social isolation were associated with long DUP. Our data also show that pathways into care characteristics play significant role in DUP. Thus, the challenge of tackling the issue of timely access to EI under the new Access and Waiting Time standard for psychosis requires a multilevel approach, including joint working with communities, public awareness of psychosis, less restrictive referral pathways and adequate resourcing of early intervention for psychosis services. These will go a long way in addressing patients' needs rather than be determined by service structures.

AVATAR Therapy for Distressing Voices: A Comprehensive Account of Therapeutic Targets.

AVATAR therapy represents an effective new way of working with distressing voices based on face-to-face dialogue between the person and a digital representation (avatar) of their persecutory voice. To date, there has been no complete account of AVATAR therapy delivery. This article presents, for the first time, the full range of therapeutic targets along with information on acceptability and potential side effects. Interest in the approach is growing rapidly and this report acts as a necessary touchstone for future development.

Compulsory admission at first presentation to services for psychosis: does ethnicity still matter? Findings from two population-based studies of first episode psychosis.

OBJECTIVES: Compared with the majority population, those from minority ethnic groups in the UK are more likely to be admitted compulsorily during a first episode of psychosis (FEP). We investigated whether these disparities in pathways in to care continue. METHODS: We analysed data from two first episode psychosis studies, conducted in the same geographical area in south London 15 years apart: the Aetiology and Ethnicity in Schizophrenia and Other Psychosis (AESOP) and the Clinical Record Interactive Search-First Episode Psychosis (CRIS-FEP) studies. The inclusion/exclusion criteria for case ascertainment for first episode psychosis were identical across the two studies. We performed multivariable logistic regression to estimate odds of compulsory admission by ethnic group, controlling for confounders. PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred sixty-six patients with first episode psychosis, aged 18-64 years, who presented to mental health services in south London in 1997-1999 and 446 with FEP who presented in 2010-2012. RESULTS: When the two samples  were compared, ethnic differences in compulsory admission appear to have remained the same for black African patients, i.e. three times higher than white British in both samples: AESOP (adj. OR = 3.96; 95% CI = 1.80-8.71) vs. CRIS-FEP (adj. OR = 3.12; 95% CI = 1.52-6.35). Black Caribbean patients were three times more likely to be compulsorily admitted in AESOP (adj. OR = 3.20; 95% CI = 1.56-6.54). This was lower in the CRIS-FEP sample (adj. OR = 1.68; 95% CI = 0.71-3.98) and did not meet conventional levels for statistical significance. CONCLUSION: Ethnicity is strongly associated with compulsory admissions at first presentation for psychosis with evidence of heterogeneity across groups, which deserves further research.

Multidimensional impact of severe mental illness on family members: systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: The impact of severe mental illnesses (SMIs) is not limited to the person with the illness but extends to their family members and the community where the patient comes from. In this review, we systematically analyse the available evidence of impacts of SMI on family members, including parents, grandparents, siblings, spouses and children. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase and Global Index Medicus were searched from the inception of each database up to 9 November 2019. We also did manual searches of grey literature. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: We included studies that assessed the impacts of SMI on any family member. We excluded studies in admitted clinics and acute wards to rule out the acute effect of hospitalisation. DATA EXTRACTION: Two reviewers extracted data independently using the Cochrane handbook guideline for systematic reviews and agreed on the final inclusion of identified studies. RISK OF BIAS: The quality of the included studies was assessed using effective public health practice project quality assessment tool for quantitative studies.The review protocol was registered in the PROSPERO database. RESULTS: We screened a total of 12 107 duplicate free articles and included 39 articles in the review. The multidimensional impact of SMI included physical health problems (sleeplessness, headache and extreme tiredness.), psychological difficulties (depression and other psychological problems) and socioeconomic drift (less likely to marry and higher divorce rate and greater food insecurity). Impacts on children included higher mortality, poor school performance and nutritional problems. However, the quality of one in five studies was considered weak. CONCLUSIONS: Our review indicated a high level of multidimensional impact across multiple generations. The serious nature of the impact calls for interventions to address the multidimensional and multigenerational impact of SMI, particularly in low/middle-income countries. Given the relatively high number of studies rated methodologically weak, more robust studies are indicated. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42018064123.

Assessing the subjective experience of participating in a clinical trial (AVATAR).

This study assessed the subjective experience of participating in a clinical trial, specifically positive and negative experiences and the experience of audio recording assessment sessions. The study was cross-sectional from a single blinded randomised controlled trial. Forty participants with a primary diagnosis of non-organic psychosis completed baseline and 12-week follow-up questionnaires assessing their experiences. Participants rated research interviews as moderately helpful in facilitating their therapy and talking to the interviewer as moderately helpful at baseline and 12-week follow-up. Self-report ratings of the degree of self-realisation promoted by the research questionnaires were significantly higher at 12-week follow-up compared to baseline. Participants adjusted quickly to being audio recorded and rated interviews as not at all disruptive and not at all to slightly intrusive. On average there were neutral emotional reactions, positive gains and minimal inconveniences as a result of participation. The main reasons for taking part were: 'To help myself', 'I was curious' and 'To help others'. The findings offer support to previous research reporting that individuals with mental health problems find participating in clinical trials a beneficial experience. This may alleviate concerns that participation in similar studies may be personally intrusive or harmful.

Training the Frontline Workforce to Deliver Evidence-Based Therapy to People With Psychosis: Challenges in the GOALS Study.

Improving access to psychotherapies in psychosis requires workforce expansion in resource-challenged systems. The GOALS feasibility randomized controlled trial assessed training and implementation of an evidence-based intervention by frontline workers, targeting recovery goals. Training uptake and therapy fidelity were good. Case managers with crisis management responsibilities were less likely than clinical assistants to deliver therapy. Participants receiving "sufficient therapy" achieved goals, but therapy was usually provided by clinical assistants. This is consistent with implementation science principles, that training must be combined with supportive organizational structures, such as by focusing on roles that already include therapy delivery or developing stronger organizational supports for case managers.

What is the impact of research champions on integrating research in mental health clinical practice? A quasiexperimental study in South London, UK.

OBJECTIVES: Key challenges for mental health healthcare professionals to implement research alongside clinical activity have been highlighted, such as insufficient time to apply research skills and lack of support and resources. We examined the impact of employing dedicated staff to promote research in community mental health clinical settings. DESIGN: Quasiexperiment before and after study. SETTING: South London and Maudsley National Health Service Foundation Trust. PARTICIPANTS: 4455 patients receiving care from 15 community mental health teams between 1 December 2013 and 31 December 2014. OUTCOME MEASURES: The proportion of patients approached for research participation in clinical services where research champions were present (intervention group), and where research champions were not present (comparison group). RESULTS: Patients in the intervention group were nearly six times more likely to be approached for research participation (Adj. OR=5.98; 95% CI 4.96 to 7.22). CONCLUSIONS: Investing in staff that promote and drive research in clinical services increases opportunities for patients to hear about and engage in clinical research studies. However, investment needs to move beyond employing short-term staff.

Antidepressant Controlled Trial For Negative Symptoms In Schizophrenia (ACTIONS): a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Negative symptoms of schizophrenia represent deficiencies in emotional responsiveness, motivation, socialisation, speech and movement. When persistent, they are held to account for much of the poor functional outcomes associated with schizophrenia. There are currently no approved pharmacological treatments. While the available evidence suggests that a combination of antipsychotic and antidepressant medication may be effective in treating negative symptoms, it is too limited to allow any firm conclusions. OBJECTIVE: To establish the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of augmentation of antipsychotic medication with the antidepressant citalopram for the management of negative symptoms in schizophrenia. DESIGN: A multicentre, double-blind, individually randomised, placebo-controlled trial with 12-month follow-up. SETTING: Adult psychiatric services, treating people with schizophrenia. PARTICIPANTS: Inpatients or outpatients with schizophrenia, on continuing, stable antipsychotic medication, with persistent negative symptoms at a criterion level of severity. INTERVENTIONS: Eligible participants were randomised 1 : 1 to treatment with either placebo (one capsule) or 20 mg of citalopram per day for 48 weeks, with the clinical option at 4 weeks to increase the daily dosage to 40 mg of citalopram or two placebo capsules for the remainder of the study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcomes were quality of life measured at 12 and 48 weeks assessed using the Heinrich's Quality of Life Scale, and negative symptoms at 12 weeks measured on the negative symptom subscale of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. RESULTS: No therapeutic benefit in terms of improvement in quality of life or negative symptoms was detected for citalopram over 12 weeks or at 48 weeks, but secondary analysis suggested modest improvement in the negative symptom domain, avolition/amotivation, at 12 weeks (mean difference -1.3, 95% confidence interval -2.5 to -0.09). There were no statistically significant differences between the two treatment arms over 48-week follow-up in either the health economics outcomes or costs, and no differences in the frequency or severity of adverse effects, including corrected QT interval prolongation. LIMITATIONS: The trial under-recruited, partly because cardiac safety concerns about citalopram were raised, with the 62 participants recruited falling well short of the target recruitment of 358. Although this was the largest sample randomised to citalopram in a randomised controlled trial of antidepressant augmentation for negative symptoms of schizophrenia and had the longest follow-up, the power of statistical analysis to detect significant differences between the active and placebo groups was limited. CONCLUSION: Although adjunctive citalopram did not improve negative symptoms overall, there was evidence of some positive effect on avolition/amotivation, recognised as a critical barrier to psychosocial rehabilitation and achieving better social and community functional outcomes. Comprehensive assessment of side-effect burden did not identify any serious safety or tolerability issues. The addition of citalopram as a long-term prescribing strategy for the treatment of negative symptoms may merit further investigation in larger studies. FUTURE WORK: Further studies of the viability of adjunctive antidepressant treatment for negative symptoms in schizophrenia should include appropriate safety monitoring and use rating scales that allow for evaluation of avolition/amotivation as a discrete negative symptom domain. Overcoming the barriers to recruiting an adequate sample size will remain a challenge. TRIAL REGISTRATION: European Union Drug Regulating Authorities Clinical Trials (EudraCT) number 2009-009235-30 and Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN42305247. FUNDING: This project was funded by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment programme and will be published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 20, No. 29. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.

Stress Sensitivity, Aberrant Salience, and Threat Anticipation in Early Psychosis: An Experience Sampling Study.

While contemporary models of psychosis have proposed a number of putative psychological mechanisms, how these impact on individuals to increase intensity of psychotic experiences in real life, outside the research laboratory, remains unclear. We aimed to investigate whether elevated stress sensitivity, experiences of aberrant novelty and salience, and enhanced anticipation of threat contribute to the development of psychotic experiences in daily life. We used the experience sampling method (ESM) to assess stress, negative affect, aberrant salience, threat anticipation, and psychotic experiences in 51 individuals with first-episode psychosis (FEP), 46 individuals with an at-risk mental state (ARMS) for psychosis, and 53 controls with no personal or family history of psychosis. Linear mixed models were used to account for the multilevel structure of ESM data. In all 3 groups, elevated stress sensitivity, aberrant salience, and enhanced threat anticipation were associated with an increased intensity of psychotic experiences. However, elevated sensitivity to minor stressful events (χ(2)= 6.3,P= 0.044), activities (χ(2)= 6.7,P= 0.036), and areas (χ(2)= 9.4,P= 0.009) and enhanced threat anticipation (χ(2)= 9.3,P= 0.009) were associated with more intense psychotic experiences in FEP individuals than controls. Sensitivity to outsider status (χ(2)= 5.7,P= 0.058) and aberrantly salient experiences (χ(2)= 12.3,P= 0.002) were more strongly associated with psychotic experiences in ARMS individuals than controls. Our findings suggest that stress sensitivity, aberrant salience, and threat anticipation are important psychological processes in the development of psychotic experiences in daily life in the early stages of the disorder.

Predicting psychiatric inpatient costs.

PURPOSE: A large proportion of mental health costs is inpatient care but little is known about their variation between patients. The aim of this study was to measure and identify the predictors of costs of staff contacts and activities on inpatient wards. METHOD: Inpatients from psychiatric hospital wards in south London were interviewed in 2008 and 2009 and staff contacts and use of activities recorded over a week and costs calculated. Regression analyses identified predictors. RESULTS: Of 334 participants, 78% used activities and 90% had staff contacts. However, 41% reported no nurse contact. Mean staff contact and activity costs were £197 and £30 per week, respectively. Staff contact costs were inversely related to age, and activity costs were higher for patients with higher levels of education. Patient satisfaction was positively associated with both costs. CONCLUSIONS: The costs of self-reported staff contacts and use of activities account for a small amount of total inpatient costs. Patients with higher costs appeared to have higher levels of satisfaction.

The effects of an Audio Visual Assisted Therapy Aid for Refractory auditory hallucinations (AVATAR therapy): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Psychological interventions which adopt an explicitly interpersonal approach are a recent development in the treatment of distressing voices. AVATAR therapy is one such approach which creates a direct dialogue between a voice-hearer and a computerised representation of their persecutory voice (the avatar) through which the person may be supported to gain a sense of greater power and control. The main objective of the trial is to test the clinical efficacy of this therapy to reduce the frequency and severity of auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH). Secondary objectives of the study are to explore explanatory mechanisms of action and potential moderators, to carry out a qualitative evaluation of participants' experience and to conduct an economic evaluation. METHODS/DESIGN: The AVATAR randomised clinical trial will independently randomise 142 participants to receive either 7 sessions of AVATAR therapy or supportive counselling (SC). The study population will be individuals with schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders who report hearing persistent distressing voices, for more than 12 months, which are unresponsive or only partially responsive to antipsychotic medication. The main hypotheses are that, compared to SC, AVATAR therapy will reduce the frequency and severity of AVH and will also reduce the reported omnipotence and malevolence of these voices. Assessments will occur at 0 weeks (baseline), 12 weeks (post-intervention) and 24 weeks (follow-up), and will be carried out by blinded assessors. Both interventions will be delivered in a community-based mental health centre. Therapy competence and adherence will be monitored in both groups. Statistical analysis will follow the intention-to-treat principle and data will be analysed using a mixed (random) effects model at each post treatment time point separately. A formal mediation and moderator analysis using contemporary causal inference methods will be conducted as a secondary analysis. The trial is funded by the Welcome Trust (WT). DISCUSSION: AVATAR therapy showed promising effects in a pilot study, but the efficacy of the approach needs to be examined in a larger randomised clinical trial before wider dissemination and implementation in mental health services. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN: 65314790 , registration date: 27 March 2013.

Acute mental health service use by patients with severe mental illness after discharge to primary care in South London.

BACKGROUND: To return the patients to primary care is arguably the desired service outcome for community mental health teams (CMHTs). AIMS: To assess acute mental health service use (hospitalisation or Home Treatment Team) by people with severe mental illness following discharge to primary care. METHOD: Retrospective cohort study comparing receipt and duration of acute care by 98 patients in the two years following discharge to primary care from CMHT, with a cohort of 92 patients transferred to another CMHT. RESULTS: The discharged group was significantly more stable on clinical measures. Fifty-seven (58.2%) patients were re-referred after median 39 weeks, with 35 (60.3%) in crisis. The difference in acute service use between discharged patients (27.9 days/patient) and transferred patients (31.7 days/patient) was not significant. Hospitalisation in the two years prior to discharge or transfer increased the odds of re-referral (OR 3.93, 95% CI 1.44-14.55), subsequent acute service use (OR 1.02, 95% CI 1.01-1.03) and duration of input (0.45 extra days/patient, 95% CI 0.22-0.68). CONCLUSIONS: The majority of the discharged patients were re-referred to mental health services. Although these were more stable, there was no difference from the transferred group on acute service use. Further support may be required in primary care to maintain stability.

Ethnic differences in self-poisoning across South London.

BACKGROUND: Self-poisoning (overdose) is the commonest form of self-harm cases presenting to acute secondary care services in the UK, where there has been limited investigation of self-harm in black and minority ethnic communities. London has the UK's most ethnically diverse areas but presents challenges in resident-based data collection due to the large number of hospitals. AIMS: To investigate the rates and characteristics of self-poisoning presentations in two central London boroughs. METHOD: All incident cases of self-poisoning presentations of residents of Lambeth and Southwark were identified over a 12-month period through comprehensive acute and mental health trust data collection systems at multiple hospitals. Analysis was done using STATA 12.1. RESULTS: A rate of 121.4/100,000 was recorded across a population of more than half a million residents. Women exceeded men in all measured ethnic groups. Black women presented 1.5 times more than white women. Gender ratios within ethnicities were marked. Among those aged younger than 24 years, black women were almost 7 times more likely to present than black men were. CONCLUSION: Self-poisoning is the commonest form of self-harm presentation to UK hospitals but population-based rates are rare. These results have implications for formulating and managing risk in clinical services for both minority ethnic women and men.