Need for Cardiovascular Risk Reduction in Persons With Serious Mental Illness: Design of a Comprehensive Intervention

Persons with serious mental illness (SMI) comprise a high-risk group for cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related mortality with rates at least twice those of the overall US. Potentially modifiable CVD risk behaviors (tobacco smoking, obesity, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet) and risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia) are all markedly elevated in persons with SMI. Evaluations of programs implementing integrated medical care into specialty mental health settings have not shown meaningful effects on CVD risk factor reduction. Rigorously tested, innovative interventions are needed to address the large burden of CVD risk in populations with SMI. In this article, we describe the design of a comprehensive 18-month intervention to decrease CVD risk that we are studying in a randomized clinical trial in a community mental health organization with psychiatric rehabilitation programs. The individual-level intervention incorporated health behavior coaching and care coordination/care management to address all seven CVD risk behaviors and risk factors, and is delivered by a health coach and nurse. If successful, the intervention could be adopted within current integrated care models and significantly improve the physical health of persons with SMI

Randomized trial of achieving healthy lifestyles in psychiatric rehabilitation: the ACHIEVE trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Overweight and obesity are highly prevalent among persons with serious mental illness. These conditions likely contribute to premature cardiovascular disease and a 20 to 30 percent shortened life expectancy in this vulnerable population. Persons with serious mental illness need effective, appropriately tailored behavioral interventions to achieve and maintain weight loss. Psychiatric rehabilitation day programs provide logical intervention settings because mental health consumers often attend regularly and exercise can take place on-site. This paper describes the Randomized Trial of Achieving Healthy Lifestyles in Psychiatric Rehabilitation (ACHIEVE). The goal of the study is to determine the effectiveness of a behavioral weight loss intervention among persons with serious mental illness that attend psychiatric rehabilitation programs. Participants randomized to the intervention arm of the study are hypothesized to have greater weight loss than the control group.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>A targeted 320 men and women with serious mental illness and overweight or obesity (body mass index ≥ 25.0 kg/m²) will be recruited from 10 psychiatric rehabilitation programs across Maryland. The core design is a randomized, two-arm, parallel, multi-site clinical trial to compare the effectiveness of an 18-month behavioral weight loss intervention to usual care. Active intervention participants receive weight management sessions and physical activity classes on-site led by study interventionists. The intervention incorporates cognitive adaptations for persons with serious mental illness attending psychiatric rehabilitation programs. The initial intensive intervention period is six months, followed by a twelve-month maintenance period in which trained rehabilitation program staff assume responsibility for delivering parts of the intervention. Primary outcomes are weight loss at six and 18 months.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Evidence-based approaches to the high burden of obesity and cardiovascular disease risk in person with serious mental illness are urgently needed. The ACHIEVE Trial is tailored to persons with serious mental illness in community settings. This multi-site randomized clinical trial will provide a rigorous evaluation of a practical behavioral intervention designed to accomplish and sustain weight loss in persons with serious mental illness.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>Clinical Trials.gov NCT00902694</p

Comparing Implementation Strategies for an Evidence-Based Weight Management Program Delivered in Community Mental Health Programs: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

BackgroundAmong people with serious mental illness (SMI), obesity contributes to increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. The Achieving Healthy Lifestyles in Psychiatric Rehabilitation (ACHIEVE) randomized controlled trial (RCT) demonstrated that a behavioral intervention tailored to the needs of individuals with SMI results in clinically significant weight loss. While the research team delivered the ACHIEVE intervention in the trial, community mental health program staff are needed to deliver sessions to make scale-up feasible. Therefore, we adapted the ACHIEVE-Dissemination (ACHIEVE-D) curriculum to ease adoption and implementation in this setting. Designing and testing of implementation strategies is now needed to understand how to support ACHIEVE-D delivery by community mental health program staff coaches. ObjectiveThis study aims to conduct a pilot trial evaluating standard and enhanced implementation interventions to support the delivery of ACHIEVE-D in community mental health programs by examining effects on staff coaches’ knowledge, self-efficacy, and delivery fidelity of the curriculum. We will also examine the effects on outcomes among individuals with SMI taking part in the curriculum. MethodsThe trial will be a cluster-randomized, 2-arm parallel pilot RCT comparing standard and enhanced implementation intervention at 6 months within community mental health programs. We will randomly assign programs to either the standard or enhanced implementation interventions. The standard intervention will combine multimodal training for coaches (real-time initial training via videoconference, ongoing virtual training, and web-based avatar-assisted motivational interviewing practice) with organizational strategy meetings to garner leadership support for implementation. The enhanced intervention will include all standard strategies, and the coaches will receive performance coaching. At each program, we will enroll staff to participate as coaches and clients with SMI to participate in the curriculum. Coaches will deliver the ACHIEVE-D curriculum to the clients with SMI. Primary outcomes will be coaches’ knowledge, self-efficacy, and fidelity to the ACHIEVE-D curriculum. We will also examine the acceptability, feasibility, and appropriateness of ACHIEVE-D and the implementation strategies. Secondary outcomes among individuals with SMI will be weight and self-reported lifestyle behaviors. ResultsData collection started in March 2021, with completion estimated in March 2023. We recruited 9 sites and a total of 20 staff coaches and 72 clients with SMI. The expected start of data analyses will occur in March 2023, with primary results submitted for publication in April 2023. ConclusionsCommunity mental health programs may be an ideal setting for implementing an evidence-based weight management curriculum for individuals with SMI. This pilot study will contribute knowledge about implementation strategies to support the community-based delivery of such programs, which may inform future research that definitively tests the implementation and dissemination of behavioral weight management programs. Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT03454997; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03454997 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/4580

Promoting Evidence-Based Tobacco Cessation Treatment in Community Mental Health Clinics: Protocol for a Prepost Intervention Study

BackgroundTobacco smoking is highly prevalent among persons with serious mental illness (SMI) and is the largest contributor to premature mortality in this population. Evidence-based smoking cessation therapy with medications and behavioral counseling is effective for persons with SMI, but few receive this treatment. Mental health providers have extensive experience working with clients with SMI and frequent treatment contacts, making them well positioned to deliver smoking cessation treatment. However, few mental health providers feel adequately trained to deliver this treatment, and many providers believe that smokers with SMI are not interested in quitting or have concerns about the safety of smoking cessation pharmacotherapy, despite substantial evidence to the contrary. ObjectiveWe present the protocol for the pilot “IMPACT” (Implementing Action for Tobacco Smoking Cessation Treatment) study, which aims to pilot test a multicomponent implementation intervention to increase the delivery of evidence-based tobacco smoking cessation treatment in community mental health clinics. MethodsWe are using a prepost observational design to examine the effects of an implementation intervention designed to improve mental health providers’ delivery of the following four evidence-based practices related to smoking cessation treatment: (1) assessment of smoking status, (2) assessment of willingness to quit, (3) behavioral counseling, and (4) pharmacotherapy prescribing. To overcome key barriers related to providers’ knowledge and self-efficacy of smoking cessation treatment, the study will leverage implementation strategies including (1) real-time and web-based training for mental health providers about evidence-based smoking cessation treatment and motivational interviewing, including an avatar practice module; (2) a tobacco smoking treatment protocol; (3) expert consultation; (4) coaching; and (5) organizational strategy meetings. We will use surveys and in-depth interviews to assess the implementation intervention’s effects on providers’ knowledge and self-efficacy, the mechanisms of change targeted by the intervention, as well as providers’ perceptions of the acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility of both the evidence-based practices and implementation strategies. We will use data on care delivery to assess providers’ implementation of evidence-based smoking cessation practices. ResultsThe IMPACT study is being conducted at 5 clinic sites. More than 50 providers have been enrolled, exceeding our recruitment target. The study is ongoing. ConclusionsIn order for persons with SMI to realize the benefits of smoking cessation treatment, it is important for clinicians to implement evidence-based practices successfully. This pilot study will result in a set of training modules, implementation tools, and resources for clinicians working in community mental health clinics to address tobacco smoking with their clients. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04796961; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04796961 Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04796961; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04796961 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/4478