A Recovery-Oriented Intervention for People With Psychosis: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVE: This pilot randomized controlled trial evaluated the effectiveness of critical time intervention-task shifting (CTI-TS) for people with psychosis in Santiago, Chile, and Rio de Janeiro. CTI-TS is a 9-month intervention involving peer support workers and is designed to maintain treatment effects up to 18 months. METHODS: A total of 110 people with psychosis were recruited when they enrolled in community mental health clinics (Santiago, N=60; Rio de Janeiro, N=50). Participants within each city were randomly assigned to either CTI-TS or usual care for 9 months. Primary outcomes were quality of life, measured with the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment-Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF), and unmet needs, measured with the Camberwell Assessment of Need (CAN), at 18-month follow-up. Results were analyzed according to intention-to-treat guidelines. Generalized estimating equations, with observations clustered within cities, and multiple imputation for missing data were used. RESULTS: At 18 months, both groups showed improved primary outcomes. In both unadjusted and fully adjusted analyses, no significant differences between CTI-TS and usual care (WHOQOL-BREF question on quality of life and CAN mean number of unmet needs) were found. CONCLUSIONS: Three factors might explain the lack of difference between CTI-TS and usual care: first-contact enrollment precluded rapport prior to randomization, a minority of patients were uncomfortable with peers being on the treatment team, and primary outcome measures may not have been sensitive enough to capture the effects of a recovery-oriented intervention. The results have implications for the design of transitional services for people with psychosis, especially in Latin America.

Implementing the protocol of a pilot randomized controlled trial for the recovery-oriented intervention to people with psychoses in two Latin American cities.

Several Latin American countries have made remarkable strides towards offering community mental health care for people with psychoses. Nonetheless, mental health clinics generally have a very limited outreach in the community, tending to have weaker links to primary health care; rarely engaging patients in providing care; and usually not providing recovery-oriented services. This paper describes a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) of Critical Time Intervention-Task Shifting (CTI-TS) aimed at addressing such limitations. The pilot RCT was conducted in Santiago (Chile) and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). We included 110 people with psychosis in the study, who were recruited at the time of entry into community mental health clinics. Trial participants were randomly divided into CTI-TS intervention and usual care. Those allocated to the intervention group received usual care and, in addition, CTI-TS services over a 9-month period. Primary outcomes include quality of life (WHO Quality of Life Scale - Brief Version) and unmet needs (Camberwell Assessment of Needs) at the 18-month follow-up. Primary outcomes at 18 months will be analyzed by Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE), with observations clustered within sites. We will use three-level multilevel models to examine time trends on the primary outcomes. Similar procedures will be used for analyzing secondary outcomes. Our hope is that this trial provides a foundation for planning a large-scale multi-site RCT to establish the efficacy of recovery-oriented interventions such as CTI-TS in Latin America.

Implementing the protocol of a pilot randomized controlled trial for the recovery-oriented intervention to people with psychoses in two Latin American cities / Implementação de um protocolo para um estudo piloto randomizado e controlado sobre uma intervenção voltada para a recuperação em pessoas com psicoses em duas cidades latino-americanas / Implementando un protocolo para una prueba piloto controlada aleatorizada en una intervención orientada a la recuperación de personas con psicosis en dos ciudades latinoamericanas

Several Latin American countries have made remarkable strides towards offering community mental health care for people with psychoses. Nonetheless, mental health clinics generally have a very limited outreach in the community, tending to have weaker links to primary health care; rarely engaging patients in providing care; and usually not providing recovery-oriented services. This paper describes a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) of Critical Time Intervention-Task Shifting (CTI-TS) aimed at addressing such limitations. The pilot RCT was conducted in Santiago (Chile) and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). We included 110 people with psychosis in the study, who were recruited at the time of entry into community mental health clinics. Trial participants were randomly divided into CTI-TS intervention and usual care. Those allocated to the intervention group received usual care and, in addition, CTI-TS services over a 9-month period. Primary outcomes include quality of life (WHO Quality of Life Scale - Brief Version) and unmet needs (Camberwell Assessment of Needs) at the 18-month follow-up. Primary outcomes at 18 months will be analyzed by Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE), with observations clustered within sites. We will use three-level multilevel models to examine time trends on the primary outcomes. Similar procedures will be used for analyzing secondary outcomes. Our hope is that this trial provides a foundation for planning a large-scale multi-site RCT to establish the efficacy of recovery-oriented interventions such as CTI-TS in Latin America.

Diversos países latino-americanos já alcançaram avanços notáveis na oferta de assistência em saúde mental para pessoas com psicoses. No entanto, as clínicas de saúde mental geralmente realizam atividades de extensão muito limitadas dentro das comunidades, tendem a ter vínculos fracos com a assistência primária, raramente envolvem os próprios pacientes nos cuidados e poucas vezes prestam serviços orientados para a recuperação. O artigo descreve um estudo piloto randomizado e controlado sobre a Critical Time Intervention-Task Shifting (CTI-TS), que teve como objetivo analisar essas limitações. O estudo piloto foi realizado em Santiago (Chile) e no Rio de Janeiro (Brasil). Teve como meta a inclusão de 110 pessoas com psicose, recrutadas no momento da entrada em clínicas comunitárias de saúde mental. Os participantes foram randomizados para o CTI-TS ou para os cuidados usuais. Aqueles alocados ao grupo da intervenção receberam os cuidados usuais e os serviços de CTI-TS ao longo de 9 meses. Os desfechos primários incluíram a qualidade de vida (WHO Quality of Life Scale - Brief Version) e as necessidades não atendidas (Camberwell Assessment of Needs) no acompanhamento aos 18 meses. Os desfechos primários aos 18 meses serão analisados com a técnica de Equações de Estimação Generalizadas (GEE), com as observações agrupadas dentro dos locais do estudo. Serão utilizados modelos em três níveis para examinar as tendências temporais nos desfechos primários. Procedimentos semelhantes serão utilizados para analisar os resultados secundários. Espera-se que o estudo forneça uma base para planejar um estudo randomizado e controlado em grande escala e em múltiplos locais para estabelecer a eficácia da intervenção orientada para a recuperação, a exemplo da CTI-TS, na América Latina.

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Avaliação das limitações do comportamento social dos moradores dos serviços residências terapêuticos de um pequeno município do estado do Rio de Janeiro / Assessment of social disablement among individuals living in therapeutic residential services in a small municipality of Rio de Janeiro state

Resumo Introdução Conhecer a dimensão das limitações do comportamento social em pessoas com transtornos mentais graves habitantes de serviços residenciais terapêuticos (SRT) é crucial para gestores e profissionais de saúde mental envolvidos na prestação de cuidados baseados na comunidade. Assim, realizou-se um estudo transversal em indivíduos que residem nesses serviços em uma pequena cidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (Carmo). Objetivo Avaliar limitações do comportamento social dos entrevistados através da Escala de Comportamento Social (SBS). Método Os dados foram coletados em Janeiro/Fevereiro, 2017, utilizando a SBS. Resultados A amostra foi composta majoritariamente de homens, com idade média de 60,4 anos, analfabetos, com esquizofrenia e outros transtornos psicóticos, provenientes do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, sem contato com suas famílias, com um longo período de hospitalização prévia e recebendo benefícios. Aproximadamente 96% dos residentes mostraram, pelo menos, um problema de comportamento social, frequentemente relacionados à aparência pessoal/higiene, comunicação: tomando a iniciativa (a pessoas inicia as conversações?), lentidão, rir e falar sozinho, comportamento não especificado (qualquer outro comportamento ou atitude não previamente especificado, que parece estar atrasando o progresso da pessoa). Conclusão A população estudada apresentou alta frequência de limitação de problema social, podendo impedir sua reintegração, tornando-se necessário implementar programas de reabilitação social para este grupo.

Abstract Background Knowledge about the extent of social disablement among people with severe mental disorders living in therapeutic residential services is crucial for policy makers and mental health professionals involved in the delivery of community-base care. A cross-sectional study was conducted with people living in therapeutic residential services in the municipality of Carmo, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. Objective Evaluate limitations of the social behavior of the interviewees through the Social Behavior Scale (SBS). Method Data were collected between January and February 2017 using the SBS. Results The sample was composed mostly of men from Rio de Janeiro state, with mean age of 60.4 years, illiterate, benefit recipients, with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders and a long period of previous hospitalization with no contact with their families. Approximately 96% of them showed at least one social behavior problem, often related to poor self-care, little spontaneous communication (Does the person start a conversation?), slowness, laughing and talking to self, and other problems (any other behavior or attitude not previously specified that seem to be delaying the progress of the person). Conclusion This population presented high frequency of social disablement that may prevent their social reintegration, evidencing the need for implementing social rehabilitation programs.

Attitudes Towards the Mentally Ill: A Study with Health Workers at a University Hospital in Rio de Janeiro.

As there are few studies about evaluation of attitudes of health care workers to people with mental disorders in Brazil, a cross-sectional study was carried out to assess the health professionals' attitudes working in a university hospital in Rio de Janeiro and also examine the proportion of negative and positive attitudes endorsed by healthcare professionals in Brazil towards people with mental illness in comparison with other parts of the world. Data were collected using the Community Attitudes towards the Mentally Ill (CAMI) in a random sampling frame of health professionals (n = 246) working in a University Hospital in Rio de Janeiro between April 2013 and June 2013. The CAMI consists of four sub-scales: Authoritarianism, Benevolence, Social Restrictiveness and Community Mental Health Ideology. The results showed attitudes that range from neutral to positive, with the Benevolence and Social Restrictiveness sub-scales showing the least stigmatizing results. The following individual characteristics were associated with negative attitudes: lower levels of education and less clinical experience. In general, health workers attitudes towards service users are characterized as positive when compared with other international studies. However, educational programs for health workers should be reinforced to further promote pre-existing positive attitudes towards people with mental health and the implementation of Brazilian Mental Health Policies.

Analysis of psychometric properties of the brazilian portuguese version of the community attitudes towards the mentally ill (CAMI-BR).

OBJECTIVES: To perform an analysis of the psychometric properties of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the COMMUNITY ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE MENTALLY ILL (CAMI-BR), a 40-item scale divided into four sub-scales. METHODS: The study was conducted in a non-probability sample of 230 households located close to therapeutic residences in the west area of Rio de Janeiro. Reliability was assessed by test-retest and the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to test the internal structure of the questionnaire. RESULTS: Most participants were women, married, with children aged 18 years or over. The overall score was 27.72 (SD = 3.31), showing attitudes ranging from neutral to positive stereotypes. The scale showed a high internal consistency (? = 0.842), consistent with other international studies. In the factor analysis, the sample was adequate (KMO = 0.800). The strength of the correlations among subscales and the factors of factor analysis were highly satisfactory. The version in Brazilian Portuguese suggests a better distinction among sub-scales through the lower correlation among them (between 0.336 and 0.441) as compared to higher values (between 0.630 and 0.770) found in the original scale. The community mental health ideology sub-scale showed a strong relation to factor 1 (? = 0.910). Benevolence had a strong relationship with factor 2 (? = 0.847); Authoritarianism and Social Restrictiveness had the highest correlation with factor 3 (? = 0.631 and 0.577 respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The scale psychometric properties were maintained after adjustment. Having registered a lower correlation between the scales the factor analysis further suggests that the Brazilian Portuguese version conveys more clearly the differences between the sub-scales.