Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders (ACCESS)

March 4, 2010 updated by: Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf

Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) as Part of Integrated Care Versus Standard Care: a 12-month Trial in Patients With First- and Negatively Selected Multiple-episode Schizophrenia-spectrum Disorders Treated With Quetiapine IR

The study examined the 12-month effectiveness of continuous therapeutic assertive community treatment (ACT) as part of integrated care (IC) compared to standard care (SC) in a catchment area comparison design in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) treated with quetiapine IR.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Two catchment areas in Hamburg, Germany with similar population size and health care structures were assigned to offer 12-month ACT (& IC; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf) or SC (Asklepios Hospital, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy) to 120 first-episode and negatively selected multiple-episode patients with SSD. Primary outcome was the time to Service Disengagement. Secondary outcomes comprised medication non-adherence, improvements of symptoms, functioning, quality of life, satisfaction with care from patients and relatives perspectives, and service use data.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

120

Phase

  • Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Germany
      • Hamburg, Germany, 20246
        • University Medical Center Hamburg

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 18-65 years
  • Met the diagnostic criteria of a first- or multiple episode of a schizophrenia spectrum disorders, i.e. schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, schizoaffective disorder, delusional disorder, or psychotic disorder NOS
  • New initiation or current treatment with quetiapine Immediate Release (IR)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Other psychotic disorders (e.g., due to medical condition)
  • Mental retardation (IQ lower than 70 points)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Standard care
Standard care comprised a treatment network consisting of open and closed inpatient wards, day-clinics, an outpatient centre, and eight private psychiatrists. Each patient was treated by a private psychiatrist or by a psychiatrist in the outpatient centre. Home visits were possible, but office visits were the general rule. Patients were allowed to use all treatment offers in the outpatient centre. Outside office hours, patients could refer themselves to the psychiatric hospital. Psychosocial treatments as supportive therapy, psychoeducation, psychotherapy, and family intervention were provided infrequently and in a less intensive and unsystematic way, and only in the minority of cases. This 'standard of care' definition is in accordance with other studies.
Behavioral: Assertive Community Treatment (ACT)
ACT was structured and implemented according to guidelines of the Assertive Community Treatment Association (ACTA). Team members were highly educated psychosis experts consisting of a consultant psychiatrist, a psychiatrist, two psychologists, and a nurse, all of which received training in cognitive behavioral (CBT), dynamic, and/or family psychotherapy. Study participants could use all treatment options within the integrated care program such as psychoeducation groups, social skills training, family groups, motivational addiction therapy, meta-cognitive training etc.
Other Names:
  • Assertive Community Treatment, Schizophrenia

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Time to Service Disengagement
Time Frame: 12 months
The primary outcome of the study was the time to service disengagement (SD). This primary aim was chosen because the assertive approach of ACT is to prevent service disengagement3 and because service disengagement is a major predictor for relapse and thereby poor long-term outcome.16,17 Service disengagement was present, if a patient repeatedly refuses further treatment despite several attempts of reengagement (phone calls of patient and family in both treatment arms and potentially home visits in the ACT group).
12 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Improvements of symptoms, functioning, quality of life, and satisfaction with care from patients and relatives perspectives
Time Frame: 12 months
Secondary outcomes comprised medication non-adherence, improvements of symptoms, functioning, quality of life, and satisfaction with care from patients and relatives perspectives.
12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Martin Lambert, MD, Psychosis Centre, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

April 1, 2005

Primary Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2008

Study Completion (Actual)

April 1, 2009

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 3, 2010

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 4, 2010

First Posted (Estimate)

March 5, 2010

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

March 5, 2010

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 4, 2010

Last Verified

March 1, 2010

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • EudraCT number: 2005-001069-32

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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