Effectiveness of an Interactive Educational Website for Improving the Quality of Mental Health Care for People With Schizophrenia

Consumer Internet Education About Mental Health Quality

This study will evaluate the effectiveness of an interactive educational website in enhancing discussions about treatment issues and improving the quality of care for people with schizophrenia.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Schizophrenia
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Interactive Website on management of schizophrenia; Behavioral: Written materials and video on management of schizophrenia

Detailed Description

Schizophrenia is a disabling mental disorder that causes hallucinations and delusions in those affected by it. Research has proven that certain treatment methods are more effective in treating schizophrenia than others. However, not everyone with schizophrenia responds to treatment in the same way, and not all physicians use the same treatment methods. Educating individuals with schizophrenia about all treatments available instead of only the treatments they are receiving may improve the quality of care and lead to better correlation between treatment and quality standards. This study will evaluate the effectiveness of an interactive educational website in enhancing discussions about treatment issues and improving the congruence between expected quality of treatment and treatment received among people with schizophrenia.

Participants in this open label study will be randomly assigned to either use the interactive website or read written materials and watch a video. All three sources will contain information about evidence-based treatment recommendations. Both groups will complete a brief interview before performing their assigned tasks. Upon completion of the interview, participants in the written materials/video group will be given the reading material and will watch a 20-minute video. Participants in the web-user group will sit with a laptop computer, answer questions about themselves and their treatment, receive feedback on care that may be inconsistent with current recommendations, and receive suggestions on how to discuss this with their physicians. Participants in clinical settings will be asked to allow their next clinician visit to be audiotaped to assess outcomes. A phone interview will be conducted with all participants 2 months following the intervention to assess treatment satisfaction and other outcomes. Medical records will be reviewed to collect treatment information 6 months before and after the intervention.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 56
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Maryland
    • Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21205
      • Johns Hopkins Hospital
    • Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21224
      • Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 13 years and older (Child, Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosis of schizophrenia
• Able to read and write English
• Scheduled to see a participating clinician at one of the study sites

Exclusion Criteria:

• N/A

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: 1; Participants will use the interactive website	Behavioral: Interactive Website on management of schizophrenia; Participants in the web-user group will sit with a laptop computer, answer questions about themselves and their treatment, receive feedback on care that may be inconsistent with current recommendations, and receive suggestions on how to discuss this with their physicians.
Active Comparator: 2; Participants will read written materials and watch a video	Behavioral: Written materials and video on management of schizophrenia; Participants in the written materials/video group will be given the reading material and will watch a 20-minute video.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Concordance of treatment with evidence-based recommendations	Measured at Month 6

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Patient engagement in dialogue with clinician about schizophrenia management issues	Measured at visit immediately following intervention/control condition
Clinician satisfaction with interaction with patient	Measured at visit immediately following intervention/control condition
Patient satisfaction with interaction with clinician	Measured at visit immediately following intervention/control condition and at Month 2 post-intervention
Symptoms of psychosis	Measured at Month 2 post-intervention
Symptoms of depression	Measured at Month 2 post-intervention
Quality of life ratings	Measured at Month 2 post-intervention
Adherence to care regimen	Measured at Month 2 post-intervention
Satisfaction with outcomes of care	Measured at Month 2 post-intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
• Collaborators: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Donald M. Steinwachs, PhD, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: April 1, 2006
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 1, 2007
• Study Completion (Actual): December 1, 2007

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 7, 2006
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 7, 2006
• First Posted (Estimate): April 11, 2006

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): April 16, 2015
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 15, 2015
• Last Verified: April 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Patient education; Patient participation; Consumer involvement
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders; Schizophrenia
• Other Study ID Numbers: R01MH067189 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); DSIR 82-SEDR