Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Oct 16;17(20):7527.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph17207527.

A Method to Compare the Delivery of Psychiatric Care for People with Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia

Anna Alonso-Solís  1   2 , Susana Ochoa  2   3 , Eva Grasa  1   2 , Katya Rubinstein  4 , Asaf Caspi  4 , Kinga Farkas  5 , Zsolt Unoka  5 , Judith Usall  3 , Elena Huerta-Ramos  2   3 , Matti Isohanni  6   7 , Jussi Seppälä  6   8 , Elisenda Reixach  9 , Jesús Berdún  9 , Iluminada Corripio  1   2 , M-Resist Group
Affiliations

A Method to Compare the Delivery of Psychiatric Care for People with Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia

Anna Alonso-Solís et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Introduction: Community services are gaining ground when it comes to attention to patients with psychiatric diseases. Regarding patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS), the use of information and communication technology (ICT) could help to shift the focus from hospital-centered attention to community services. This study compares the differences in mental health services provided for patients with TRS in Budapest (Hungary), Tel-Aviv (Israel) and Catalonia (Spain) by means of a method for the quick appraisal of gaps among the three places, for a potential implementation of the same ICT tool in these regions.

Methods: An adapted version of the Description and Standardised Evaluation of Services and Directories in Europe for Long Term Care (DESDE-LTC) instrument was made by researchers in Semmelweis University (Budapest, Hungary), Gertner Institute (Tel-Aviv, Israel) and Hospital de la Santa Creu I Sant Pau and Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu (Catalonia, Spain).

Results: Two types of outpatient care services were available in the three regions. Only one type of day-care facility was common in the whole study area. Two residential care services, one for acute and the other for non-acute patients were available in every region. Finally, two self-care and volunteer-care facilities were available in the three places.

Conclusion: Although the availability of services was different in each region, most of the services provided were sufficiently similar to allow the implementation of the same ICT solution in the three places.

Keywords: Europe; information and communication technologies (ICT); mHealth; mental health services; treatment-resistant schizophrenia.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Description and Standardised Evaluation of Services and Directories in Europe for Long Term Care (DESDE-LTC) tree diagram of outpatient care services in Catalonia. Green squares: facility available; red squares: facility not available; black squares: facilities not evaluated as they refer to care unrelated to health.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Thornicroft G. The mental hospital closure programme. Br. J. Hosp. Med. 1992;48:535–537. - PubMed
    1. Lucena MA da S., Bezerra A.F.B. Reflections on the management of deinstitutionalization process. Cien Saude Colet. 2012;17:2447–2456. - PubMed
    1. Thornicroft G., Tansella M. Translating ethical principles into outcome measures for mental health service research. Psychol. Med. 1999;29:761–767. doi: 10.1017/S0033291798008034. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Correll C.U., Rubio J.M., Kane J.M. What is the risk-benefit ratio of long-term antipsychotic treatment in people with schizophrenia? World Psychiatry. 2018;17:149–160. doi: 10.1002/wps.20516. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Becker T., Kilian R. Psychiatric services for people with severe mental illness across western Europe: What can be generalized from current knowledge about differences in provision, costs and outcomes of mental health care? Acta Psychiatr. Scand. Suppl. 2006;113:9–16. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.2005.00711.x. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types