Advances in fidelity measurement for mental health services research

The official published article is available online at http://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201100430.OBJECTIVE: Mental health intervention research requires clear and accurate specification of treatment conditions in intervention studies. Measures are increasingly available for community-based interventions for persons with serious mental illnesses. Measures must go beyond structural features to assess critical processes in interventions. They must also balance effectiveness, adequate coverage of active treatment elements, with efficiency, the degree to which measures may be used cost-effectively. The context of their use is changing with the emergence of new frameworks for implementation research and quality improvement. METHODS: The focus, content, and results of preliminary studies of four recently developed fidelity measures are described. Measures respectively assess fidelity to case management, cognitive therapy for psychosis, illness management and recovery, and assertive community treatment. RESULTS: Fidelity measures described assess interventions in a range of treatment contexts from dyads to teams. Each measure focuses assessment resources on the elements critical to the respective intervention. Each has demonstrated coverage of its target intervention and satisfactory psychometric properties and is related to outcomes. Measures have been used for training, quality improvement, or certification. Current fidelity measures assess domains and have uses beyond their nominal position in implementation and quality frameworks. CONCLUSION: Process components in community-based interventions can be effectively assessed in fidelity measures. Omission of elements assessing potentially critical, active treatment components poses risk to both research and practice until there is evidence to demonstrate they are non-essential. Further development of fidelity measurement theory and approaches should articulate with development of theory and methods in implementation science

Troubles mentaux graves et abus de substances : composantes efficaces de progammes de traitements intégrés à l’intention des personnes présentant une comorbidité

Les approches traditionnelles de soins pour patients souffrant de problèmes de comorbidité qui étaient fondées sur des traitements séquentiels ou en parallèle ont échoué dans les cas de santé mentale et d'abus de substance, ce qui a conduit au développement de programmes de traitements intégrés. Dans cet article, les auteurs définissent les traitements intégrés destinés aux patients ayant ce double diagnostic et identifient les composantes clés des programmes intégrés efficaces, y compris la pratique outreach, l'approche holistique, le partage de la prise de décision, la réduction des méfaits, l'engagement à long terme et le traitement par étapes (basé sur l'approche motivationnelle). Le concept d'étapes de traitement est décrit afin d'illustrer les différents stades de motivation vécus par les personnes à mesure qu'elles se rétablissent de leur dépendance aux substances : l'engagement, la persuasion, le traitement actif et la prévention des rechutes. Les étapes de traitement servent à guider les cliniciens dans l'identification d'objectifs de traitement appropriés à l'état de motivation des patients, et à choisir des interventions fondées sur ces objectifs. En reconnaissant le stade de traitement de chaque personne, les cliniciens peuvent optimiser les résultats en choisissant des interventions qui sont appropriées à l'état de motivation de la personne ou à l'étape de traitement et ainsi minimiser les abandons. Ces programmes intégrés diffèrent dans les services spécifiques qu'ils dispensent. Toutefois, ils partagent des éléments communs dans leur philosophie et leurs valeurs. Des recherches documentent les effets bénéfiques de ces programmes qui s'avèrent de bon augure pour le pronostic à long terme des personnes présentant une comorbidité.Integrated treatment for severe mental illness and substance abuse: Effective components of programs for persons with co-occurring disorders Traditional approaches to treating clients with co-occurring disorders based sequential or parallel mental health and substance abuse treatments have failed, leading to the development of integrated treatment programs. In this article we define integrated treatment for clients with co-occurring disorders, and identify the core components of effective integrated programs, including: assertive outreach, comprehensiveness, shared decision-making, harm-reduction, long-term commitment, and stage-wise (motivation-based) treatment. The concept of stages of treatment is described to illustrate the different motivational states through which clients progress as they recover from substance abuse: engagement, persuasion, active treatment, and relapse prevention. The stages of treatment have clinical utility for guiding clinicians in identifying appropriate treatment goals matched to clients' motivational states, and selecting interventions based on these goals. By recognizing each client's current stage of treatment, clinicians can optimize outcomes by selecting interventions that are appropriate to the client's current motivational state or stage of treatment, and minimize clients dropping out from treatment. Effective integrated treatment programs for clients with co-occurring disorders differ in the specific services they provide, but share common elements in their philosophy and values. Research documents the beneficial effects of these programs, which bodes well for the long-term prognosis of clients with co-occurring disorders.Turbios mentales graves y abusos de sustancias: componentes eficaces de programas de tratamiento integrados para personas presentando una comorbosidad Las aproximaciones tradicionales de cuidos de patientes sufriendo de problemas de comorbosidad fundados sobre tratamientos secuenciales o en paralelo han fracasado en el caso de salud mental y abuso de sustancias, lo que ha conducido al desarrollo de programas de tratamientos integrados. En este artículo los autores definen los tratamientos integrados destinados a patientes con este doble diagnóstico y identifican los componentes claves de programas integrados eficaces, incluyendo la practíca outreach, el aproximación holistica, el reparto de la toma de decisión, la reducción del perjuicio, compromiso a largo plazo y el tratamiento por etapas (basado sobre una aproximación motivacional). El concepto de etapas del tratamiento esta descrito para ilustrar las fases de motivación vividas por las personas al mismo tiempo que se reestablecen de su dependencia de substancia: el empeño, la persuasion, el tratamiento activo y la prevención de recaídas. Las etapas de tratamiento sirven a orientar los clínicos en la identificación de objectivo de tratamiento apropriados al estado de tratamiento de los patientes y a escoger intervenciones fundadas sobre estos objectivos. Reconociendo el estado de tratamiento de cada persona los clínicos puedent optimisar los resultados y escoger intervenciones apropriadas al estado de motivación de la persona o a la etapa de tratamiento y asi minimisar los abandonos. Estos programas integrados diferen en los servicios especificos que dispensan. Sin embargo comparten elementos comunes en su filosofía y sus valores. Investigaciones documenten efectos benificos de estos programas cuales se revelan de buen agüero para el prognostico al largo plazo de personas presentan una comorbosidad

Cognitive Remediation and Psychosocial Rehabilitation for Individuals with Severe Mental Illness

Published versio

Neuropsychological functioning in inpatients with major depression or schizophrenia

Background: Studies that compare neuropsychological functioning in inpatients with mood disorder or schizophrenia come to heterogeneous results. This study aims at investigating the question whether there are different neuropsychological test profiles in stabilised post-acute inpatients with affective disorders or schizophrenia. Method: We were interested in evaluating impairment in specific areas of cognitive functioning in patients with schizophrenia or depression. In clinical reality, patients with depression and schizophrenia are often treated together with little attention to their specific needs. 74 patients with major depression and 38 patients with schizophrenia were assessed in a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. All patients were in a post-acute stage of their illness, i.e. remission of acute symptoms. Results: In spite of a comparable mean score of psychopathological symptoms in the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale-Expanded (BPRS-E) as well as in the Global Assessment Functioning Scale (GAF), patients with depressive disorder showed significantly better results in verbal and visual short-term memory, verbal fluency, visual-motor coordination, information processing in visual-verbal functioning and selective attention compared to patients with schizophrenia. No significant differences between both samples were found in practical reasoning, general verbal abstraction, spatial-figural functioning, speed of cognitive processing. Conclusions: These results show that there are differences in scores in psychopathology (BPRS-E, GAF) in patients with affective disorders or schizophrenia and different neuropsychological test profiles in the post-acute stage of their illness

Correlates of adverse childhood events among adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorders

OBJECTIVE: Multiple studies have found that childhood adversity is related to a range of poor mental health, substance abuse, poor physical health, and poor social functioning outcomes in the general population of adults. However, despite the high rates of childhood adversity in schizophrenia, the clinical correlates of these events have not been systematically evaluated. This study evaluated the relationship between adverse experiences in childhood and functional, clinical, and health outcomes among adults with schizophrenia. METHODS: The authors surveyed 569 adults with schizophrenia regarding adverse childhood events (including physical abuse, sexual abuse, parental mental illnesses, loss of a parent, parental separation or divorce, witnessing domestic violence, and foster or kinship care). The relationships between cumulative exposure to these events and psychiatric, physical, and functional outcomes were evaluated. RESULTS: Increased exposure to adverse childhood events was strongly related to psychiatric problems (suicidal thinking, hospitalizations, distress, and posttraumatic stress disorder), substance abuse, physical health problems (HIV infection), medical service utilization (physician visits), and poor social functioning (homelessness or criminal justice involvement). CONCLUSIONS: The findings extend the results of research in the general population by suggesting that childhood adversity contributes to worse mental health, substance abuse, worse physical health, and poor functional outcomes in schizophrenia

Do cognitive impairments limit treatment gains in a standalone digital intervention for psychosis? A test of the digital divide

Digital mental health interventions, such as those provided by smartphone applications (apps), show promise as cost-effective approaches to increasing access to evidence-based psychosocial interventions for psychosis. Although it is well known that limited financial resources can reduce the benefits of digital approaches to mental healthcare, the extent to which cognitive functioning in this population could impact capacity to engage in and benefit from these interventions is less studied. In the current study we examined the extent to which cognitive functioning (premorbid cognitive abilities and social cognition) were related to treatment engagement and outcome in a standalone digital intervention for social functioning. Premorbid cognitive abilities generally showed no association with aggregated treatment engagement markers, including proportion of notifications responded to and degree of interest in working on app content, though there was a small positive association with improvements in social functioning. Social cognition, as measured using facial affect recognition ability, was unrelated to treatment engagement or outcome. These preliminary findings suggest that cognitive functioning is generally not associated with engagement or outcomes in a standalone digital intervention designed for and with people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.Accepted manuscrip

Illness Management and Recovery: A Review of the Literature

OBJECTIVE: Illness Management and Recovery (IMR) is a standardized psychosocial intervention that is designed to help people with severe mental illness manage their illness and achieve personal recovery goals. This literature review summarizes the research on consumer-level effects of IMR and articles describing its implementation. METHODS: In 2011, the authors conducted a literature search of Embase, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library by using the key words “illness management and recovery,” “wellness management and recovery,” or “IMR” AND (“schizophrenia” OR “bipolar” OR “depression” OR “recovery” OR “mental health”). Publications that cited two seminal IMR articles also guided further exploration of sources. Articles that did not deal explicitly with IMR or a direct adaptation were excluded. RESULTS: Three randomized-controlled trials (RCTs), three quasi-controlled trials, and three pre-post trials have been conducted. The RCTs found that consumers receiving IMR reported significantly more improved scores on the IMR Scale (IMRS) than consumers who received treatment as usual. IMRS ratings by clinicians and ratings of psychiatric symptoms by independent observers were also more improved for the IMR consumers. Implementation studies (N=16) identified several important barriers to and facilitators of IMR, including supervision and agency support. Implementation outcomes, such as participation rates and fidelity, varied widely. CONCLUSIONS: IMR shows promise for improving some consumer-level outcomes. Important issues regarding implementation require additional study. Future research is needed to compare outcomes of IMR consumers and active control groups and to provide a more detailed understanding of how other services utilized by consumers may affect outcomes of IMR

The relationship between cognitive functioning, age and employment in people with severe mental illnesses in an urban area in India: a longitudinal study.

Although there is substantial evidence of the association between cognitive impairment and work in people with severe mental illnesses (SMI) in developed countries, less is known about this relationship in developing countries such as India. Studies showing higher rates of employment in people with SMI in developing countries than developed ones raise the question of whether cognitive functioning is related to work status and characteristics of work (e.g., wages earned). We conducted a one-year follow-up study to investigate the relationship between employment and cognitive functioning, assessed with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), in 150 participants with SMI (92% schizophrenia) living in an urban area and receiving psychiatric outpatient treatment at a public hospital in India. The MoCA had good internal reliability and test-retest reliability over the one-year period. Better cognitive functioning was associated with younger age, shorter duration of illness, higher education, and male gender. Both younger and older participants with higher cognitive functioning at baseline were more likely to be employed at baseline and one year later. Work status at baseline and one year follow-up was consistently related to executive functions among younger participants, and to attention among older participants, suggesting changes over the course of illness in the importance of specific cognitive domains for achieving satisfactory work performance. The findings suggest that cognitive functioning is associated with employment in people with SMI in India. Attention to impaired cognitive functioning may be critical to improving employment outcomes in this population.Dudley Allen Sargent Research Fund; Boston UniversityPublished versio

Factor structure of the autonomy preference index in people with severe mental illness

People vary in the amount of control they want to exercise over decisions about their healthcare. Given the importance of patient-centered care, accurate measurement of these autonomy preferences is critical. This study aimed to assess the factor structure of the Autonomy Preference Index (API), used widely in general healthcare, in individuals with severe mental illness. Data came from two studies of people with severe mental illness (N=293) who were receiving mental health and/or primary care/integrated care services. Autonomy preferences were assessed with the API regarding both psychiatric and primary care services. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate fit of the hypothesized two-factor structure of the API (decision-making autonomy and information-seeking autonomy). Results indicated the hypothesized structure for the API did not adequately fit the data for either psychiatric or primary care services. Three problematic items were dropped, resulting in adequate fit for both types of treatment. These results suggest that with relatively minor modifications the API has an acceptable factor structure when asking people with severe mental illness about their preferences to be involved in decision-making. The modified API has clinical and research utility for this population in the burgeoning field of autonomy in patient-centered healthcare

A randomized controlled trial of Illness Management and Recovery with an active control condition

Objective The purpose of the study was to rigorously test Illness Management and Recovery (IMR) against an active control group in a sample that included veterans. Methods A total of 118 participants with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, 56 of whom were veterans, were recruited from a Department of Veterans Affairs medical center and a community mental health center in the same city and were randomly assigned to an IMR group (N=60) or a weekly problem-solving group intervention (N=58). Groups met weekly for nine months. Blinded assessments were conducted at baseline, nine months, and 18 months on measures of symptoms, functioning, illness self-management, medication adherence, subjective recovery experiences, and service utilization. Results No significant differences were found between IMR and problem-solving groups. Participants in both groups improved significantly over time in symptom severity, illness management, and quality of life and had fewer emergency department visits. Participation rates in both interventions were low. Only 28% of consumers assigned to IMR and 17% of those assigned to the problem-solving group participated in more than half the scheduled groups, and 23% and 34%, respectively, attended no sessions. Conclusions This is the first randomized controlled trial of IMR to report negative findings. Given the inclusion of an active control group and the low participation rates, further research is needed to understand factors affecting IMR effectiveness. Increased attention may need to be paid to facilitate more active participation in IMR, such as individual follow-up with consumers and the integration of IMR with ongoing treatment