Abstract

BackgroundThe Specialized Treatment Early in Psychosis (STEP) program has delivered a specialty-team based first-episode service (FES) since 2006 in New Haven. In 2015, STEP launched a 4-year early detection (ED) campaign (Mindmap), adapted from the Scandinavian TIPS approach, to shorten Duration of Untreated Psychosis (DUP) in a 10-town catchment (popn. 400,000).MethodsMindmap’s social-ecological model targeted demand (delays in identifying illness and help-seeking) and supply (delays in referring to and providing FES) side constituents of DUP. Mindmap used mass and social media messaging, professional detailing, and rapid triage of referrals. DUP was measured as the time between the onset of psychosis and initiation of antipsychotic treatment (DUP1) and FES care (DUP2). A control FES (PREP, Boston) supported the quasi-experimental design. Quantile regression was used to interrogate the impact of the campaign across the full range of DUP. The campaign was launched in 2015, after a one-year baseline.ResultsThe third quartile of DUP1 fell significantly at the intervention site in the pre- vs. post-campaign period (329 to 185 days, p=0.03). A time-series analysis revealed a cumulative effect of the campaign over time i.e. for each year of campaigning a 46-day reduction was achieved at STEP. DUP1 at the other quartiles and DUP2 across all quartiles showed a consistent trend of reduction over time at STEP, but this did not reach conventional statistical significance. At PREP both DUP1 & DUP2 remain unchanged, and comparable to baseline levels at STEP.DiscussionMindmap has shown promise in reducing delays to care and this is the first controlled demonstration of DUP reduction in a U.S. community setting. Additional data on help-seeking events and pathways to care and social media metrics will be presented as mediating variables. Mindmap was an early detection campaign hosted by an established FES and targeting a defined geographic catchment to recruit all incident cases. As such, this effort included a wide range of community and clinical stakeholders and modeled a population health based approach to the care of early psychosis. The lessons are relevant for burgeoning FES implementations across the world, and these will be elaborated based on the data and experience of implementing this study.

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