Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) in a Rural Canadian Community: Client Characteristics, Client Satisfaction, and Service Effectiveness

Abstract

This study describes an assertive community treatment (ACT) model in a rural Canadian location and examines characteristics of ACT service users, their degree of satisfaction with ACT, and whether their engagement with ACT resulted in reduced reliance on acute psychiatric services and hospital emergency room use. Chart audits were used to collect demographic and clinical participant data, including days of psychiatric admission and emergency room (ER) visits. Twenty-nine ACT clients agreed to participate. The majority of participants (82.8%) were male and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia or a schizoaffective disorder (65.5%). There was a high rate of concurrent substance abuse (75.9%). The average number of readmission days was reduced from 14 to 0 (p < 0.05) following engagement with ACT, and the average number of visits to ER s was reduced from 3 to 1 (p < 0.05). Participants reported overall high satisfaction with ACT services. Study implications for policy and practice are discussed along with future research recommendations.