Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare satisfaction with care in patients with schizophrenia in two CMHT models: traditional and pilot program group with concurrent assessment of symptom severity and social functioning.
Methods: Ninety patients with schizophrenia treated in Community Mental Health Teams were included in the study, 60 in the traditional model and 30 in the pilot-program model.A demographic data questionnaire, the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Verona Service Satisfaction Scale (VSSS-54), the Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS), the Social Network Index (SNI),and a scale measuring loneliness (UCLA Loneliness Scale) were used.
Results: The pilot-program group was characterized by significantly lower age of subjects (p=0.048), less psychiatric medication use (p=0.027), higher total(p<0.001) and positive (p<0.001) symptom severity in PANSS, smaller social network (p=0.003), less role activity in social network (p<0.001), higher level of loneliness (p=0.001) and higher level of disability (p<0.001). The pilot-program group had significantly higher satisfaction with involvement of families in the therapeutic process(p = 0.024).
Conclusions: In the pilot-program group, younger, more severely ill patients with higher severity of symptoms and worse social functioning were included in the treatment with no differences in the number of hospitalizations between the groups. It can be concluded that CMHT in the pilot-program Mental Health Centers (MHCs) protects this group of patients from hospitalization. There was also higher satisfaction with family involvement in the therapeutic process in the pilot-program group. A valuable continuation of the study would be to evaluate the treatment outcomes in all CMHTs operating under the pilot-program MHCs.
Keywords: community mental health team; community psychiatry; pilot program.