Pathways to experienced coercion during psychiatric admission: a network analysis.

BACKGROUND: In mental health care, experienced coercion, also known as perceived coercion, is defined as the patient's subjective experience of being submitted to coercion. Besides formal coercion, many other factors have been identified as potentially affecting the experience of being coerced. This study aimed to explore the interplay between these factors and to provide new insights into how they lead to experienced coercion. METHODS: Cross-sectional network analysis was performed on data collected from 225 patients admitted to six psychiatric hospitals. Thirteen variables were selected and included in the analyses. A Gaussian Graphical Model (GGM) using Spearman's rank-correlation method and EBICglasso regularisation was estimated. Centrality indices of strength and expected influence were computed. To evaluate the robustness of the estimated parameters, both edge-weight accuracy and centrality stability were investigated. RESULTS: The estimated network was densely connected. Formal coercion was only weakly associated with both experienced coercion at admission and during hospital stay. Experienced coercion at admission was most strongly associated with the patients' perceived level of implication in the decision-making process. Experienced humiliation and coercion during hospital stay, the most central node in the network, was found to be most strongly related to the interpersonal separation that patients perceived from staff, the level of coercion perceived upon admission and their satisfaction with the decision taken and the level of information received. CONCLUSIONS: Reducing formal coercion may not be sufficient to effectively reduce patients' feeling of being coerced. Different factors seemed indeed to come into play and affect experienced coercion at different stages of the hospitalisation process. Interventions aimed at reducing experienced coercion and its negative effects should take these stage-specific elements into account and propose tailored strategies to address them.

Measurement of perceived pressures in psychiatry: paper-and-pencil and computerized adaptive version of the P-PSY35 scale.

PURPOSE: Formal coercion in psychiatry is widely studied yet much less is known about pressures patients may experience, partly because of the very few measures available. The goal of this study was to validate the P-PSY35 (Pressures in Psychiatry Scale) and provide a paper-and-pencil and a computerised adaptive test (CAT) to measure pressures experienced by patients in psychiatry. METHODS: The P-PSY35 items were developed with users. Patients were evaluated during psychiatric hospitalisation or through an online survey. Mokken scale analysis and Item response theory (IRT) were used to select and estimate the items parameters. A Monte-Carlo simulation was performed to evaluate the number of items needed to transform the paper-and-pencil test into a reliable psychometric CAT. RESULTS: A total of 274 patients were assessed. The P-PSY35 demonstrated good internal validity, internal consistency, convergent and divergent validity. The P-PSY35 could be substantially shortened while maintaining excellent reliability using the CAT procedure. CONCLUSION: The P-PSY35 was developed in collaboration with users. It is a psychometrically rigorous tool designed to measure experienced pressures in French-language. The development and successful validation of the P-PSY35 represent a welcome step towards implementing and evaluating programs aimed at reducing negative consequences of coercion.

Exploring Patients' Feeling of Being Coerced During Psychiatric Hospital Admission: A Qualitative Study.

Various coercive measures can be used to legally compel a person suffering from psychiatric disorder to undergo treatment. However, evidence suggests that patients' feeling of being coerced is not determined solely by their being submitted to formal coercion. This study aimed to explore voluntary and involuntary patients' experience of coercion during psychiatric hospitalisation and to identify which factors, from their perspective, most affected it. We chose a qualitative design inspired by a hermeneutic-phenomenological approach. Participants were purposively selected from six psychiatric hospitals in Switzerland. Maximum variation sampling was used to ensure the inclusion of patients with different levels of perceived coercion and different admission statuses. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were co-conducted by a research psychologist and a service-user researcher. The transcribed data underwent thematic analysis. All twelve interviewed patients described the hospitalisation as an experience of loss of control over their life due to either external or internal pressures. During the process, perceptions of these pressures varied and sometimes overlapped, leading some patients to describe their admission as a form of simultaneous protection and violation. The balance between these two contradictory feelings was affected by a variety of contextual and relational factors, as well as by the meaningfulness of the experience and the patient's subsequent satisfaction with it. Increasing policy-makers' and clinicians' awareness about the main factors influencing patients' experience of loss of control is of paramount importance in order to develop skills and strategies able to address them, reinforcing patients' empowerment, reducing their feeling of coercion and improving their well-being.

[A patient-researcher in psychiatry: the role of lived experience in the production of knowledge]. / Une patiente-chercheuse en psychiatrie : le rôle de l'expérience vécue dans la production de savoirs.

Clinicians do not have the same awareness of pain as patients. In some circumstances, the patients' pain is too distant from the clinicians' experience, making difficult for them to understand what the patient is talking about. To overcome this lack of understanding, a growing movement is emerging in psychiatry which value experiential expertise through the development of partnership with expert patients. The patient-researcher or peer-researcher is a figure that exemplifies the involvement in scientific research projects of a person with a history of mental disorders. This article discusses in detail the challenges related to the coproduction of knowledge in psychiatric research.

Le clinicien n'a pas le même savoir de la douleur que le patient. Dans certaines situations, la douleur du patient est trop éloignée de l'expérience du clinicien pour que celui-ci comprenne de quoi le patient parle. Pour remédier à cette incompréhension, il existe en psychiatrie un mouvement grandissant de valorisation des savoirs expérientiels par l'émergence de la collaboration avec des patients experts. Le patient-chercheur ou pair-chercheur est une figure incarnant l'intervention d'une personne ayant vécu des troubles psychiques engagée dans le cadre de projets de recherche scientifique. Cet article explique concrètement les enjeux liés à la coproduction de connaissances de la recherche en psychiatrie.

Satisfaction and Perceived Coercion in Voluntary Hospitalisations: Impact of Past Coercive Experiences.

Coercion in psychiatry is associated with several detrimental effects, including in the long term. The effect of past experience of coercion on the perception of subsequent hospitalisations remains less studied. The present study aimed to assess the impact of past experience of coercion on the perception of coercion and satisfaction with subsequent voluntary hospitalisations. A total of 140 patients who were hospitalised on a voluntary basis were included. Fifty-three patients experienced coercion before this hospitalisation and 87 did not. Patients were assessed for treatment satisfaction and perceived coercion. Health status was also evaluated by both patients and carers. Past experience of coercion was the independent variable. Perceived coercion and satisfaction scores were used as different dependent variables in a series of regression models. Results suggested a long-term detrimental impact of past experience of coercion on some aspects of satisfaction and perceived coercion in subsequent voluntary hospitalisations even when controlling for self and carers-rated health status. Overall, this study suggests that special attention should be paid to patients who are voluntarily admitted to hospital but have a history of coercion, as they may still be impacted by their past coercive experiences. Ways to increase satisfaction and reduce perceived coercion of these patients are discussed.

Patterns of Service Use in Intensive Case Management: A Six Year Longitudinal Study.

An Intensive Case Management (ICM) intervention has been developed in Lausanne, Switzerland. It aims to promote access to care for people with severe mental disorders who have difficulties to engage with mental health services because of the severity of their disorders and/or their marginality. ICM embrace components of assertive community treatment and critical time intervention. It is time limited and focused on critical phases of recovery. The goal of this study was to examine the heterogeneity of service use patterns of people who required ICM interventions and identify differences in patterns of duration and timing of the intervention. Records of 471 patients from the Department of Psychiatry of Lausanne University Hospital for whom the ICM team intervention was requested were analysed over a 6 year period with discrete sequential-state analysis. Trajectories could be split between six meaningful clusters including service light use and critical time intervention (58.0%), transition to long-term regular ambulatory-care (11.3%), partial transition to ambulatory care (14.4%), alternative to hospitalization (10.4%), continued ICM (4.9%) and long hospital stays (1.1%). Diagnoses of substance abuse were overrepresented among heavy users and diagnoses of schizophrenia were the most frequent diagnostic overall. Profiles of service use for ICM patients were very diverse. Long term interventions were frequently not necessary. A time-limited intervention was likely sufficient to stabilize the situation and/or engage the patient in care. A small number of situations required a sustained and long-term investment and did not always allowed for a reduction in the need for hospitalization. A general reflection on alternatives to hospitalization must be pursued, in particular for these patients.

[Health services and systems research in psychiatry - The systemic challenge of the ambulatory shift in psychiatry]. / Recherche sur les services et systèmes de santé en psychiatrie - Le défi systémique du virage ambulatoire en psychiatrie.

Health services and systems research examines the match between individual and population health needs and clinical services. In the context of the ambulatory shift in psychiatry, services research is important to ensure the quality of clinical developments, their appropriateness to patient and societal needs, their accessibility, efficiency, implementation and real-world outcomes. The purpose of this article is to present the principles that guide mental health services and systems research and to illustrate them with three examples related to the ambulatory shift in psychiatry. Research on services must be based on both epidemiological and clinical research as well as on partnerships with expert patients.

La recherche sur les services et systèmes de santé examine l'adéquation entre les besoins de santé des individus et de la population et les services cliniques. Dans le contexte du virage ambulatoire en psychiatrie, la recherche sur les services est importante pour assurer la qualité des développements cliniques, leur adéquation aux besoins des patients et de la société, leur accessibilité, leur efficacité, leur mise en œuvre et leurs résultats dans le monde réel. L'objectif de cet article est de présenter les principes qui guident la recherche sur les services et les systèmes de santé mentale et de les illustrer par trois exemples liés au virage ambulatoire en psychiatrie. La recherche sur les services doit se fonder sur la recherche épidémiologique et clinique ainsi que sur des partenariats avec des patients experts.

Measuring the paradox of self-stigma: psychometric properties of a brief scale.

BACKGROUND: Exposure to public stigma can lead to stereotype endorsement and resignation, which are constructs related to self-stigma. This latter phenomenon has well-documented deleterious consequences for people living with mental illness. Paradoxically, it can also lead to the empowering reactions of righteous anger and coming out proud. AIM: The aim of this study was to develop and validate a brief tool to measure stereotype endorsement, righteous anger, and non-disclosure across different groups of stigmatized persons. This process was conducted in collaboration with users. METHOD: Using focus groups with mental health professionals and people living with mental illness, 72 items were developed to measure various aspects of self-stigma. The Paradox of Self-Stigma scale (PaSS-24) containing 24 items and three subscores (stereotype endorsement, non-disclosure, and righteous anger) resulted from a calibration phase using factor analysis. This structure was cross-validated on an independent sample. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergent validity were also evaluated. RESULTS: 202 patients were assessed. The PaSS-24 demonstrated good internal validity. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergent validity estimates were also good. CONCLUSIONS: The PaSS-24 is a short but psychometrically rigorous tool designed to measure self-stigma and related constructs in French language, developed in collaboration with users. The development and validation of the PaSS-24 represent a first step towards implementing and evaluating programs aimed at reducing negative consequences of self-stigma.

Work-related burnout among personnel at a university hospital: identifying quantitative and qualitative differences using latent class analysis.

BACKGROUND: Burnout among hospital personnel is frequent and has impacts on the quality of care. Monitoring is important, but there is a lack of specificity for individual patterns of burnout syndromes. AIMS: This study aimed to identify specific burnout profiles in a hospital setting. METHOD: Using job satisfaction data from a survey of 4793 hospital personnel, we performed a latent class analysis on the work-related items of the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI). Total burnout score, job satisfaction and work-related variables were compared across classes. RESULTS: Five latent work-related burnout profiles were revealed, including a high-risk class (9.5% of participants) and two classes with similar total CBI scores: a high-fatigue class (6%), including young administrative personnel who reported less pleasure at work but a better work-life balance, and an emotional-exhaustion class (13.1%), including older healthcare personnel who were more satisfied at work and could use their skills appropriately. Finally, personnel in the high-risk class were younger healthcare professionals, reporting lower job satisfaction, poorer working conditions and less respect from their direct hierarchy. CONCLUSIONS: The risk and type of burnout depended on personnel's characteristics and their social and work environments. Tailored interventions should be used to address these different profiles.

Psychometric investigation of the French version of the Aberrant Salience Inventory (ASI): differentiating patients with psychosis, patients with other psychiatric diagnoses and non-clinical participants.

During the prodromal phase of psychosis, individuals may experience an aberrant attribution of salience to irrelevant stimuli. The concept of aberrant salience has been hypothesized to be a central mechanism in the emergence and maintenance of psychosis. The 29-item Aberrant Salience Inventory (ASI) was designed to measure five aspects of aberrant salience. The aim of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the French version of the ASI comparing patients with psychosis, patients with other diagnosis and healthy, non-clinical participants. The French-language ASI was adapted using the back-translation procedure. Two hundred and eighty-two participants issued from the general population and 150 psychiatric patients were evaluated. Internal validity was assessed using a two-parameter logistic item response model. Reliability was estimated using a test-retest procedure. Convergent validity was estimated using correlations between the ASI scores and several other scales. Sensitivity was evaluated by comparing the scores of participants with a diagnosis of psychosis, patients with other diagnoses and the general population. The best model distinguished three factors: Enhanced Interpretation and Emotionality, Sharpening of Senses and Heightened Cognition. Reliability and convergent validity estimates were good in both groups. The Sharpening of Senses factor was able to discriminate between patients and the general population. Only the Heightened Cognition factor was able to discriminate patients with psychosis from the other psychiatric patients. The ASI is a valid and reliable tool to study not only the aberrant salience phenomenon in patients with psychosis, but also with other diagnoses and within the general population.

Improving Pleasure and Motivation in Schizophrenia: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.

BACKGROUND: Negative symptoms are frequent in patients with schizophrenia and are associated with marked impairments in social functioning. The efficacy of drug-based treatments and psychological interventions on primary negative symptoms remains limited. The Positive Emotions Programme for Schizophrenia (PEPS) is designed to improve pleasure and motivation in schizophrenia patients by targeting emotion regulation and cognitive skills relevant to apathy and anhedonia. The main hypothesis of this study is that patients who attend 8 one-hour sessions of PEPS and treatment as usual (TAU) will have lower total apathy-avolition and anhedonia-asociality composite scores on the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) than patients who attend only TAU. METHODS: Eighty participants diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder were randomized to receive either TAU or PEPS + TAU. The participants were assessed by independent evaluators before randomization (T0), in a post-test after 8 weeks of treatment (T1) and at a 6-month follow-up (T2). RESULTS: The post-test results and 6-month follow-up assessments according to an intention-to-treat analysis showed that the apathy and anhedonia composite scores on the SANS indicated statistically greater clinical improvements in PEPS participants than in non-PEPS participants. In the post-test, anhedonia but not apathy was significantly improved, thus favouring the PEPS condition. These results were sustained at the 6-month follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: PEPS is an effective intervention to reduce anhedonia in schizophrenia. PEPS is a short, easy-to-use, group-based, freely available intervention that is easy to implement in a variety of environments (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT02593058).

Identifying patterns in psychiatric hospital stays with statistical methods: towards a typology of post-deinstitutionalization hospitalization trajectories.

PURPOSE: Over the past 50 years, deinstitutionalization changed the face of psychiatry. However, outpatient treatment in the community does not always fit the needs of those who left institutions and sometimes leads to frequent re-hospitalizations, a mechanism known as the "revolving door" phenomenon. The study aim was to identify different typologies of hospitalization trajectories. METHODS: Records of 892 inpatients from the Department of Psychiatry of Lausanne University Hospital were analyzed over a 3-year period with discrete sequential-state analysis. RESULTS: Trajectories could be split between atypical users (4.9% of patients totalling 30.6% of hospital days) and regular users. Within the atypical users group, three categories were identified: "Permanent stays" (3 patients totalling 6.3% of hospital days), "long stays" (1.7% patients/8.6% hospital days) and "revolving door" stays (2.9% patients/15.8% hospital days). The remaining 95.1% of the patients were classified into "unique episodes" (70.0% patients/24.5% hospital days) and "repeated episodes" (25.0% patients/44.9% hospital days). Diagnoses of schizophrenia were overrepresented among heavy users. CONCLUSIONS: Most patients went through a unique or low number of brief hospital admissions over the 3 years of the study. While the shift of previously institutionalized individuals towards high users of psychiatric hospital seems limited, this phenomenon should not be neglected since 4.9% of patients use about a third of hospital beds. Early identification of problematic profiles could allow the implementation of relapse prevention strategies and facilitate the development of alternatives to hospitalization such as assertive community treatment or housing first programs.

Psychometric properties of the French-language version of the Coercion Experience Scale (CES).

BACKGROUND: The Coercion Experience Scale (CES) was designed to measure the psychological impact of psychiatric coercive interventions. The French-language CES was adapted using a translation/back-translation procedure. It consists originally of 31 items and 6 subscores. AIM: The goal of this study was aimed to assess the psychometric properties of the French-language CES. METHOD: 146 inpatients were evaluated. Internal validity was assessed using confirmatory factor analysis. Reliability was estimated using internal consistency coefficients and a test-retest procedure. Convergent validity was estimated using correlations between the AES scores and the Coercion Ladder (CL), the MacArthur's Admission Experience Survey (AES) and the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) scale. Discriminatory power was evaluated by comparing the scores of patients undergoing voluntary or compulsory admission. RESULTS: Although the six-factor original model of the CES showed adequate fit to the data of the French-language version, two factors were almost indistinguishable. A well-defined five-factor alternative was proposed. The CES scores showed good internal consistency. Test-retest reliability varied from good to weak among the five subscores. Correlations between CES and CL, AES and WHOQOL scores suggested good convergent validity for most scores. Two CES scores were significantly higher among patients subject to compulsory psychiatric hospital admission than among those admitted voluntarily. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the French-language version of the CES is a usable tool to study different aspects of perceived coercion.

[Alternatives to psychiatric hospitalisation]. / Alternatives à l'hospitalisation psychiatrique.

In psychiatry, alternatives to hospitalisation have been developed further to deinstitutionalisation. With the decrease in the number of psychiatric beds and the emergence of new representations regarding the possibility of recovery for people with mental disorder, hospitalisations have been limited to crisis periods. Sheltered housing has been created for vulnerable people. New models of care such «â€…assertive ¼ community treatment ¼ allow to following people with severe mental disorders in the community, whilst avoiding precariousness and isolation. This article aims to present alternatives to psychiatric hospitalisation in a vision of care that answers patients' needs in a proportional and efficient way, that offers a good collaboration with other care providers and that is well-balanced between community care and hospitalisations.

En psychiatrie, les alternatives à l'hospitalisation ont été développées suite au virage communautaire. La réduction du nombre de lits et la prise de conscience des possibilités de rétablissement des troubles psychiques ont conduit à réserver les hospitalisations aux périodes de crise. Actuellement, de nouvelles structures d'accueil et d'hébergement et des modèles de soins tels que l'assertive community treatment permettent à des personnes souffrant de troubles psychiques sévères de vivre dans la communauté tout en luttant contre la précarité et l'abandon. Cet article présente les alternatives à l'hospitalisation s'inscrivant dans une psychiatrie qui répond aux besoins des patients de manière proportionnelle et efficiente, dans le réseau de soins et qui offre un équilibre entre approche communautaire et hospitalisations.

[Psychiatry]. / Psychiatrie.

Children of patients with psychiatric disorders are at higher risk to develop a psychiatric illness. In addition, phases of crisis and hospitalization of the parent are often traumatizing to the children, especially during childhood. Although a specific offer to face these issues is compulsory in some countries, such is not the case in Switzerland. In this paper we describe the implementation of a special offer for children of parents with mental illness (Famille +) in the service of general psychiatry at the Department of psychiatry of the Lausanne University hospital in Switzerland. We will also discuss the development and implementation of the Joint Crisis Plan, a collaborative tool where psychiatric patients and clinicians define the strategies that should be applied in case of crisis, which strengthens the empowerment of patients and their participation to decisions about their treatment.

Les enfants de patients souffrant d'un trouble psychiatrique ont un risque accru de développer eux-mêmes des troubles psychiatriques au cours de leur vie. De plus, les phases de crise et les hospitalisations de parents sont souvent vécues de manière traumatisante par leurs enfants. Bien qu'une offre spécialisée pour les enfants de patients psychiatriques soit obligatoire dans certains pays nordiques, tel n'est pas le cas en Suisse. Le développement d'un tel programme est décrit dans cet article. Il y sera aussi question du développement et de l'implantation du plan de crise conjoint, un outil partenarial entre patients et soignants qui définit les interventions et les modalités de prise en charge en cas de crise et permet ainsi de renforcer l'autodétermination des patients et leur participation aux décisions qui les concernent.

Perceived coercion in psychiatric hospital admission: validation of the French-language version of the MacArthur Admission Experience Survey.

BACKGROUND: The MacArthur Admission Experience Survey (AES) is a widely used tool to evaluate the level of perceived coercion experienced at psychiatric hospital admission. The French-language AES was prepared using a translation/back-translation procedure. It consists of 16 items and 3 subscores (perceived coercion, negative pressures and voice). This study aimed to assess the psychometric properties of the French-language AES. METHODS: 152 inpatients were evaluated. Reliability was estimated using internal consistency coefficients and a test-retest procedure. Internal validity was assessed using a two-parameter logistic item response model. Convergent validity was estimated using correlations between the AES scores and the Coercion Ladder (CL), the Coercion Experience Scale (CES) and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale. Discriminatory power was evaluated by comparing the scores of patients undergoing voluntary or compulsory admission. RESULTS: The French-language AES showed good internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Internal validity of the three-factor model was excellent. Correlations between AES and CL, CES and GAF scores suggested good convergent validity. AES scores were significantly higher among patients subject to compulsory psychiatric hospital admission than among those admitted voluntarily. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the French-language version of the AES demonstrated very good psychometric proprieties.

[Peer support workers : a novel profession in psychiatry]. / Les pairs praticiens en santé mentale : une nouvelle profession en psychiatrie.

The possibility to recover from a psychiatric disorder for example schizophrenia materializes today by the emergence of new professionals : peer support workers. These persons have lived the experience of a mental health disorder and underwent training in order to contribute to the recovery of others. This brief article provides an update while they begin to be active in French-speaking Switzerland. The data indicate that their involvement in care decreases the use of emergency, enhances the capability of persons to manage their own health and the satisfaction towards psychiatric services. They promote a culture of hope and recovery in other professionals. Studies are necessary to evaluate more precisely these complex interventions.

La possibilité de se rétablir d'un trouble psychiatrique, par exemple la schizophrénie, se concrétise aujourd'hui par l'émergence de nouveaux professionnels : les pairs praticiens en santé mentale. Ces personnes ont vécu l'expérience du trouble psychiatrique et suivi une formation pour contribuer au rétablissement d'autres personnes. Ce bref article fait le point alors qu'ils commencent à s'établir en Suisse romande. Les données indiquent que leur implication dans les soins diminue le recours aux urgences, augmente la capacité des personnes à gérer leur propre santé et le degré de satisfaction vis-à-vis des services de psychiatrie. Ils favorisent une culture de l'espoir et du rétablissement auprès des autres professionnels. Des études sont encore nécessaires pour évaluer plus précisément ces interventions complexes.

[New developments in psychiatry]. / Psychiatrie.

The development of the role of peer workers in mental health aims to give more space to patients and to enrich mental health treatment with their personal experience. New strategies have also been developed to facilitate access to work for patients suffering from mental illness as well as to improve mental health of workers, within a global movement aiming at putting forth the role of work as a mean towards social integration, which tends to be forgotten in a society aiming principally at productivity. In a more technical domain, repeated Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation offers a new tool for the treatment of resistant depression. Finally, the Swiss Society for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy (SGPP) has published recommendations for the treatment of schizophrenia which are freely available on the website of this society.

Le développement du rôle de pairs praticiens en santé mentale cherche à faire une plus grande place aux patients et à enrichir les soins en s'appuyant sur leur expérience de la maladie psychique. De nouvelles stratégies visent d'autre part à améliorer l'accès des patients psychiques au monde du travail, ainsi qu'à améliorer la santé psychique des travailleurs, dans un mouvement qui met en avant le rôle d'intégration sociale du travail, ce que l'on tend à oublier dans un monde axé avant tout sur la productivité. Dans un domaine plus technique, le développement de la stimulation magnétique transcrânienne répétitive (rTMS) offre un nouvel outil pour le traitement de la dépression résistante. Enfin, la Société suisse de psychiatrie et psychothérapie vient de publier des recommandations pour le traitement de la schizophrénie.

[Housing first : at home recovery of severe mental disorder]. / « Chez soi d'abord ¼ : se rétablir chez soi d'un trouble psychique sévère.

Mental disorders may result in severe precariousness of housing, with a worsening of the disorders, inappropriate hospitalizations, homelessness, substance abuse or even suicide. The « housing first ¼ model offers direct access to housing with the support of a mobile psychiatric team, which bypasses the usual steps hospital - fostered home - independent housing. The goal of this article is to describe a « housing first ¼ pilot project conducted in Lausanne. Demographics, clinical and services' use data were collected from participants 12 months before and after the integration into the program. 16 people have been integrated into housing. The average length (from 81 to 15 days) and the average number of psychiatric hospitalizations (from 1.31 to 0.44) declined significantly for 30%-60% less direct costs as compared to fostered homes. However, several obstacles remain to be overcome in order to continue this program.

Les troubles psychiatriques peuvent avoir pour conséquence une grave précarité de logement, avec une aggravation des troubles, des hospitalisations inappropriées, des périodes sans-abri, la consommation de substances, voire le suicide. Le modèle « chez soi d'abord ¼ (housing first) propose un accès direct au logement avec le soutien d'une équipe de psychiatrie mobile, qui court-circuite les étapes usuelles hôpital ­ foyer ­ logement individuel. L'objectif de cet article est de décrire un projet pilote « chez soi d'abord ¼ réalisé à Lausanne. Des données démographiques, cliniques et d'utilisation des services ont été récoltées auprès des participants, 12 mois avant et après l'intégration au programme. Seize personnes ont été intégrées en logement. La durée moyenne (de 81 à 15 jours) et le nombre moyen d'hospitalisations psychiatriques (de 1,31 à 0,44) ont diminué de manière statistiquement significative pour un coût direct moindre. De nombreux obstacles restent néanmoins à surmonter pour pérenniser ce programme.

[Assertive community treatment: promoting engagement with care of people suffering severe addiction]. / Suivi intensif dans la communauté pour faciliter l'accès aux soins des personnes avec des problèmes d'addiction.

Despite the increasing number of specialized addiction services and the constant deployment of health care resources, a coordinated needs-based treatment is not always available for people with severe drugs and/or alcohol problems. Too often the involved health care professionals feel helpless and overwhelmed by the complexity of the situation. In order to promote the treatment engagement of the hard-to-reach substance users, a multidisciplinary mobile team project for addiction (SIMA) was developed in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 20174. This paper describes the model of intervention, the profile of the population followed during the first year of intervention and illustrates, through two clinical cases, the advantages of this approach.