Brynmor Lloyd-Evans

A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials of peer support for people with severe mental illness

BackgroundLittle is known about whether peer support improves outcomes for people with severe mental illness.MethodA systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted. Cochrane CENTRAL Register, Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, and CINAHL were searched to July 2013 without restriction by publication status. Randomised trials of non-residential peer support interventions were included. Trial interventions were categorised and analysed separately as: mutual peer support, peer support services, or peer delivered mental health services. Meta-analyses were performed where possible, and studies were assessed for bias and the quality of evidence described.ResultsEighteen trials including 5597 participants were included. These comprised four trials of mutual support programmes, eleven trials of peer support services, and three trials of peer-delivered services. There was substantial variation between trials in participants’ characteristics and programme content. Outcomes were incompletely reported; there was high risk of bias. From small numbers of studies in the analyses it was possible to conduct, there was little or no evidence that peer support was associated with positive effects on hospitalisation, overall symptoms or satisfaction with services. There was some evidence that peer support was associated with positive effects on measures of hope, recovery and empowerment at and beyond the end of the intervention, although this was not consistent within or across different types of peer support.ConclusionsDespite the promotion and uptake of peer support internationally, there is little evidence from current trials about the effects of peer support for people with severe mental illness. Although there are few positive findings, this review has important implications for policy and practice: current evidence does not support recommendations or mandatory requirements from policy makers for mental health services to provide peer support programmes. Further peer support programmes should be implemented within the context of high quality research projects wherever possible. Deficiencies in the conduct and reporting of existing trials exemplify difficulties in the evaluation of complex interventions.

Initiatives to shorten duration of untreated psychosis: systematic review

BACKGROUND Long duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) is common and associated with poor outcomes. Strategies to enhance early detection of first-episode psychosis have been advocated. AIMS To evaluate initiatives for early detection of psychosis. METHOD Systematic review of available evidence on the effectiveness of early detection initiatives to reduce the DUP. RESULTS The review included 11 studies which evaluated 8 early detection initiatives. Evidence suggests that general practitioner education campaigns and dedicated early intervention services do not by themselves reduce DUP or generate more treated cases. Evidence for multifocus initiatives is mixed: intensive campaigns targeting the general public as well as relevant professionals may be needed. No studies evaluated initiatives targeting young people or professionals from non-health organisations. CONCLUSIONS How early detection can be achieved is not clear. Evidence is most promising for intensive public awareness campaigns: these require organisation and resourcing at a regional or national level. More good-quality studies are needed to address gaps in knowledge.

In-patient and residential alternatives to standard acute psychiatric wards in England

BACKGROUND Acute psychiatric wards have been the focus of widespread dissatisfaction. Residential alternatives have attracted much interest, but little research, over the past 50 years. AIMS Our aims were to identify all in-patient and residential alternatives to standard acute psychiatric wards in England, to develop a typology of such services and to describe their distribution and clinical populations. METHOD National cross-sectional survey of alternatives to standard acute in-patient care. RESULTS We found 131 services intended as alternatives. Most were hospital-based and situated in deprived areas, and about half were established after 2000. Several clusters with distinctive characteristics were identified, ranging from general acute wards applying innovative therapeutic models, through clinical crisis houses that are highly integrated with local health systems, to more radical voluntary sector alternatives. Most people using the alternatives had a previous history of admission, but only a few community-based services accepted compulsory admissions. CONCLUSIONS Alternatives to standard acute psychiatric wards represent an important, but previously undocumented and unevaluated, sector of the mental health economy. Further evidence is needed to assess whether they can improve the quality of acute in-patient care.

Residential alternatives to acute psychiatric hospital admission: systematic review

BACKGROUND Reducing use of hospital wards and improving their quality are central aims of mental health service policy. However, no comprehensive synthesis is available of evidence on residential alternatives to standard acute psychiatric wards. AIMS To assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of and satisfaction with residential alternatives to standard acute in-patient mental health services. METHOD A systematic search identified controlled studies comparing residential alternatives with standard in-patient services. Studies were described and assessed for methodological quality. Results from higher quality studies are presented and discussed. RESULTS Twenty-seven relevant studies were identified. Nine studies of moderate quality provide no contraindication to identified alternative service models and limited preliminary evidence that community-based alternatives may be cheaper and individuals more satisfied than in standard acute wards. CONCLUSIONS More research is needed to establish the effectiveness of service models and target populations for residential alternatives to standard acute wards. Community-based residential crisis services may provide a feasible and acceptable alternative to hospital admission for some people with acute mental illness.

Implementation of the Crisis Resolution Team model in adult mental health settings: a systematic review

BackgroundCrisis Resolution Teams (CRTs) aim to offer an alternative to hospital admission during mental health crises, providing rapid assessment, home treatment, and facilitation of early discharge from hospital. CRTs were implemented nationally in England following the NHS Plan of 2000. Single centre studies suggest CRTs can reduce hospital admissions and increase service users’ satisfaction: however, there is also evidence that model implementation and outcomes vary considerably. Evidence on crucial characteristics of effective CRTs is needed to allow team functioning to be optimised. This review aims to establish what evidence, if any, is available regarding the characteristics of effective and acceptable CRTs.MethodsA systematic review was conducted. MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL and Web of Science were searched to November 2013. A further web-based search was conducted for government and expert guidelines on CRTs. We analysed studies separately as: comparing CRTs to Treatment as Usual; comparing two or more CRT models; national or regional surveys of CRT services; qualitative studies of stakeholders’ views regarding best practice in CRTs; and guidelines from government and expert organisations regarding CRT service delivery. Quality assessment and narrative synthesis were conducted. Statistical meta-analysis was not feasible due to the variety of design of retrieved studies.ResultsSixty-nine studies were included. Studies varied in quality and in the composition and activities of the clinical services studied. Quantitative studies suggested that longer opening hours and the presence of a psychiatrist in the team may increase CRTs’ ability to prevent hospital admissions. Stakeholders emphasised communication and integration with other local mental health services; provision of treatment at home; and limiting the number of different staff members visiting a service user. Existing guidelines prioritised 24-hour, seven-day-a-week CRT service provision (including psychiatrist and medical prescriber); and high quality of staff training.ConclusionsWe cannot draw confident conclusions about the critical components of CRTs from available quantitative evidence. Clearer definition of the CRT model is required, informed by stakeholders’ views and guidelines. Future studies examining the relationship of overall CRT model fidelity to outcomes, or evaluating the impact of key aspects of the CRT model, are desirable.Trial registrationProspero CRD42013006415.

Alternatives to standard acute in-patient care in England: short-term clinical outcomes and cost-effectiveness

BACKGROUND Outcomes following admission to residential alternatives to standard in-patient mental health services are underresearched. AIMS To explore short-term outcomes and costs of admission to alternative and standard services. METHOD Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS), Threshold Assessment Grid (TAG), Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) and admission cost data were collected for six alternative services and six standard services. RESULTS All outcomes improved during admission for both types of service (n = 433). Adjusted improvement was greater for standard services in scores on HoNOS (difference 1.99, 95% CI 1.12-2.86), TAG (difference 1.40, 95% CI 0.39-2.51) and GAF functioning (difference 4.15, 95% CI 1.08-7.22) but not GAF symptoms. Admissions to alternatives were 20.6 days shorter, and hence cheaper (UK pound3832 v. pound9850). Standard services cost an additional pound2939 per unit HoNOS improvement. CONCLUSIONS The absence of clear-cut advantage for either type of service highlights the importance of the subjective experience and longer-term costs.

Alternatives to standard acute in-patient care in England: differences in content of care and staff–patient contact

BACKGROUND Differences in the content of care provided by acute in-patient mental health wards and residential crisis services such as crisis houses have not been researched. AIMS To compare planned and actual care provided at alternative and standard acute wards and to investigate the relationship between care received and patient satisfaction. METHOD Perspectives of stakeholders, including local service managers, clinicians and commissioners, were obtained from 23 qualitative interviews. Quantitative investigation of the care provided at four alternative and four standard services was undertaken using three instruments developed for this study. The relationship of care received to patient satisfaction was explored. RESULTS No significant difference was found in intensity of staff-patient contact between alternative and standard services. Alternative services provided more psychological and less physical and pharmacological care than standard wards. Care provision may be more collaborative and informal in alternative services. All measured types of care were positively associated with patient satisfaction. Measured differences in the care provided did not explain the greater acceptability of community alternatives. CONCLUSIONS Similarities in care may be more marked than differences at alternative and standard services. Staff-patient contact is an important determinant of patient satisfaction, so increasing it should be a priority for all acute in-patient services.

Assessing the content of mental health services: a review of measures

BackgroundMeasurement of service content is necessary to understand what services actually provide and explain variation in service outcomes. There is no consensus about how to measure content of care in mental health services.MethodContent of care measures for use in mental health services were identified through a search of electronic databases, hand searching of references from selected studies and consultation with experts in the field. Measures are presented in an organising methodological framework. Studies which introduced or cited the measures were read and investigations of empirical associations between content of care and outcomes were identified.ResultsTwenty five measures of content of care were identified, which used three different data collection methods and five information sources. Seven of these measures have been used to identify links between content of care and outcomes, most commonly in Assertive Community Treatment settings.DiscussionMeasures have been developed which can provide information about service content. However, there is a need for measures to demonstrate more clearly a theoretical or empirical basis, robust psychometric properties and feasibility in a range of service settings. Further comparison of the feasibility and reliability of different measurement methods is needed. Contradictory findings of associations between service content and outcomes may reflect measures’ uncertain reliability, or that crucial process variables are not being measured.ConclusionMeasures providing a greater depth of information about the nature of interventions are needed. In the absence of a gold standard content of care measure, a multi-methods approach should be adopted.

Alternatives to standard acute in-patient care in England: roles and populations served

BACKGROUND Key questions regarding residential alternatives to standard acute psychiatric care, such as crisis houses and short-stay in-patient units, concern the role that they fulfil within local acute care systems, and whether they manage people with needs and illnesses of comparable severity to those admitted to standard acute wards. AIMS To study the extent to which people admitted to residential alternatives and to standard acute services are similar, and the role within local acute care systems of admission to an alternative service. METHOD Our approach combined quantitative and qualitative methods. Consecutive cohorts of patients in six residential alternatives across England and six standard acute wards in the same areas were identified, and clinical and demographic characteristics, severity of symptoms, impairments and risks compared. Semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders in each local service system were used to explore the role and functioning of each alternative. RESULTS Being already known to services (OR = 2.6, 95% CI 1.3-5.2), posing a lower risk to others (OR = 0.49, 95% CI 0.31-0.78) and having initiated help-seeking in the current crisis (OR = 2.2, 95% CI 1.2-4.3) were associated with being admitted to an alternative rather than a standard service. Stakeholder interviews suggested that alternatives have a role that is similar but not identical to standard hospital services. They can divert some, but not all, patients from acute admission. CONCLUSIONS Residential alternatives are integrated into catchment area mental health systems. They serve similar, but not identical, clinical populations to standard acute wards and provide some, but not all, of the functions of these wards.

Improving outcomes for people in mental health crisis: a rapid synthesis of the evidence for available models of care

BACKGROUND Crisis Concordat was established to improve outcomes for people experiencing a mental health crisis. The Crisis Concordat sets out four stages of the crisis care pathway: (1) access to support before crisis point; (2) urgent and emergency access to crisis care; (3) quality treatment and care in crisis; and (4) promoting recovery. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the models of care for improving outcomes at each stage of the care pathway. DATA SOURCES Electronic databases were searched for guidelines, reviews and, where necessary, primary studies. The searches were performed on 25 and 26 June 2014 for NHS Evidence, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, NHS Economic Evaluation Database, and the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) and PROSPERO databases, and on 11 November 2014 for MEDLINE, PsycINFO and the Criminal Justice Abstracts databases. Relevant reports and reference lists of retrieved articles were scanned to identify additional studies. STUDY SELECTION When guidelines covered a topic comprehensively, further literature was not assessed; however, where there were gaps, systematic reviews and then primary studies were assessed in order of priority. STUDY APPRAISAL AND SYNTHESIS METHODS Systematic reviews were critically appraised using the Risk Of Bias In Systematic reviews assessment tool, trials were assessed using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool, studies without a control group were assessed using the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) prognostic studies tool and qualitative studies were assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme quality assessment tool. A narrative synthesis was conducted for each stage of the care pathway structured according to the type of care model assessed. The type and range of evidence identified precluded the use of meta-analysis. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS One review of reviews, six systematic reviews, nine guidelines and 15 primary studies were included. There was very limited evidence for access to support before crisis point. There was evidence of benefits for liaison psychiatry teams in improving service-related outcomes in emergency departments, but this was often limited by potential confounding in most studies. There was limited evidence regarding models to improve urgent and emergency access to crisis care to guide police officers in their Mental Health Act responsibilities. There was positive evidence on clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of crisis resolution teams but variability in implementation. Current work from the Crisis resolution team Optimisation and RElapse prevention study aims to improve fidelity in delivering these models. Crisis houses and acute day hospital care are also currently recommended by NICE. There was a large evidence base on promoting recovery with a range of interventions recommended by NICE likely to be important in helping people stay well. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS Most evidence was rated as low or very low quality, but this partly reflects the difficulty of conducting research into complex interventions for people in a mental health crisis and does not imply that all research was poorly conducted. However, there are currently important gaps in research for a number of stages of the crisis care pathway. Particular gaps in research on access to support before crisis point and urgent and emergency access to crisis care were found. In addition, more high-quality research is needed on the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of mental health crisis care, including effective components of inpatient care, post-discharge transitional care and Community Mental Health Teams/intensive case management teams. STUDY REGISTRATION This study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42014013279. FUNDING The National Institute for Health Research HTA programme.