Trial to Increase FEP Attendance

Financial Incentives to Increase Treatment Attendance in First-Episode Psychosis Care: A Non-Randomized, Adaptive Pilot Study

Individuals with first-episode psychosis (FEP) are at high-risk for several poor functional and clinical outcomes, including suicide. Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC) is a multidisciplinary, team-based intervention known to improve such outcomes, including suicide risk. However, 30-50% of patients disengage from CSC, thereby limiting its impact. This pilot study will develop and test feasibility of a behavioral change program that uses moderate financial incentives to encourage treatment engagement in 2 CSC programs. A single-arm of 80 patient-participants at these two clinics will be recruited to assess feasibility and acceptability from patient perspectives. Additionally,15 clinicians at these two clinics will be recruited to assess feasibility and acceptability from clinician perspectives, and 50 clinicians from peer clinics not involved in the intervention will be recruited to assess scalability of the intervention. The trial will feature an three-month period for recruitment and baseline data collection and will subsequently feature three intervention periods (3 months each) where modifications to the interventions will be tested (each informed by the feasibility and acceptability findings of the prior period) with the aim of sequentially improving it.

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: First-Episode Psychosis
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Financial Incentive and Text-Messages

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 145
• Phase: Early Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • North Carolina
    • Raleigh, North Carolina, United States, 27608
      • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (ENCOMPASS Program)
  • Pennsylvania
    • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19123
      • PEACE Program, Horizon House, Inc.
    • Philadephia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19104
      • University of Pennsylvania

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. For all participants, age ≥ 18 years old.
2. For intervention trial and patient feasibility and acceptability measurement: Patients with first-episode psychosis, enrolled in Coordinated Specialty Care at the Psychosis Education, Assessment, Care and Empowerment (PEACE) clinic and Psychosis Evaluation and Recovery Center (PERC).
3. For clinician feasibility and acceptability measurement at intervention sites: Clinicians working at PEACE and PERC where the intervention will be piloted.
4. For clinician implementation facilitator and barrier assessment at other Connection LHS sites to assess for scalability: Clinicians in Connection LHS who work at sites other than PEACE and PERC.Participants must sign the informed consent form

Exclusion Criteria:

1. For intervention trial and patient feasibility and acceptability measurement: Expectation of leaving coordinated specialty care programing within 6 months (which will exclude all of the PI's patient panel) and/or intellectual disability of sufficient degree that the patient's primary psychiatrist expects to compromise capacity to consent to this research and/or psychosis secondary to another medical condition (which may not share the same motivational features that are otherwise understood about the primary psychiatric conditions with psychosis).
2. For clinician feasibility and acceptability measurement at intervention sites: Study investigators who work at these clinics will be excluded from participation in the feasibility and acceptability study component given their role in the trial planning and execution.
3. For clinician implementation facilitator and barrier assessment at other Connection LHS sites to assess for scalability: none.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Acceptability of intervention measure (AIM)	The AIM is a 4-item scale measuring acceptability. Each item is scored 1-5 with 5 indicating greater acceptability. Minimum score is 4; maximum is 20.	Change at 8 months
Feasibility of intervention measure (FIM)	The FIM is a 4-item scale measuring feasibility. Each item is scored 1-5 with 5 indicating greater feasibility. Minimum score is 4; maximum is 20.	Change at 8 months
Acceptability of intervention measure (AIM)	The AIM is a 4-item scale measuring acceptability. Each item is scored 1-5 with 5 indicating greater acceptability. Minimum score is 4; maximum is 20.	Change at 6 months
Acceptability of intervention measure (AIM)	The AIM is a 4-item scale measuring acceptability. Each item is scored 1-5 with 5 indicating greater acceptability. Minimum score is 4; maximum is 20.	Change at 4 months
Feasibility of intervention measure (FIM)	The FIM is a 4-item scale measuring feasibility. Each item is scored 1-5 with 5 indicating greater feasibility. Minimum score is 4; maximum is 20.	Change at 6 months
Feasibility of intervention measure (FIM)	The FIM is a 4-item scale measuring feasibility. Each item is scored 1-5 with 5 indicating greater feasibility. Minimum score is 4; maximum is 20.	Change at 4 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Implementation Survey Response	Implementation survey. Results will be used to optimize intervention from implementation perspective.	Change at 6 months
Motivation Survey Response	Motivation survey. Results will be used to optimize intervention from motivation perspective.	Change at 6 months
Ethical Concern Survey Response	Ethical concern survey. Results will be used to optimize intervention from ethical acceptability perspective.	Change at 6 months
Implementation Survey Response	Implementation survey. Results will be used to optimize intervention from implementation perspective.	Change at 8 months
Implementation Survey Response	Implementation survey. Results will be used to optimize intervention from implementation perspective.	Change at 4 months
Motivation Survey Response	Motivation survey. Results will be used to optimize intervention from motivation perspective.	Change at 8 months
Motivation Survey Response	Motivation survey. Results will be used to optimize intervention from motivation perspective.	Change at 4 months
Ethical Concern Survey Response	Ethical concern survey. Results will be used to optimize intervention from ethical acceptability perspective.	Change at 8 months
Ethical Concern Survey Response	Ethical concern survey. Results will be used to optimize intervention from ethical acceptability perspective.	Change at 4 months

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
attrition	rate of attrition	Change at 6 months
psychotic symptomology	Compass-10. The Compass-10 is a self-report scale that measures multiple symptoms associated with psychosis, including mood symptoms. It consists of 10-items, each scored 0-6 with a minimum score of 0 and a maximum of 60. A higher score indicates greater symptomology.	Change at 6 months
psychotic symptomology	modified-Colorado Symptom Index. The modified-Colorado Symptom Index is a 14-item, clinician-rated scale with items ranked 0-4. Total minimum score = 0. Total maximum score = 56. A higher score indicates greater symptomology.	Change at 8 months
psychotic symptomology	modified-Colorado Symptom Index. The modified-Colorado Symptom Index is a 14-item, clinician-rated scale with items ranked 0-4. Total minimum score = 0. Total maximum score = 56. A higher score indicates greater symptomology.	Change at 6 months
depression	abbreviated version of the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) that has been previously validated (scale, min=0, max=21, higher mean score indicates more severe depressive symptomology)	Change at 6 months
quality of life	4-item version of the Lehman Quality of Life Scale (min = 4, max =28, higher score is improved quality of life)	Change at 8 months
recovery	5-item version of the Questionnaire about the Process of Recovery (scale, min=5, max=25, higher mean indicates more perceived recovery)	Change at 8 months
treatment motivation (intrinsic versus extrinsic)	Treatment Motivation Questionnaire-Revised (TMQ-R). The Treatment Motivation Questionnaire-Revised is a 25-item self-assessment survey that assesses several elements of treatment motivation, each ranked 1-5. It is not a single scale that results in an overall score. Some items suggest greatest motivation at a 5 and least at a 1, but others suggest greatest motivation at a 1 and least at a 5.	Change at 8 months
Perceived coercion	Modified version of the MacArthur Admission Experience Survey (AES). The MacArthur AES was developed as a self-assessment for assessing coercion and pressure during inpatient admission. It was previously modified for assisted outpatient treatment. We have modified it further to a 13-item scale for outpatient treatment generally. Each item is assessed as true or false, where true suggests great perception of pressure or coercion on some items, but less on others.	Change at 8 months
attendance rate	number of appointments attended in a given period divided by number of appointments scheduled	Change at 6 months
attrition	rate of attrition	Change at 8 months
attrition	rate of attrition	Change at 4 months
psychotic symptomology	Compass-10. The Compass-10 is a self-report scale that measures multiple symptoms associated with psychosis, including mood symptoms. It consists of 10-items, each scored 0-6 with a minimum score of 0 and a maximum of 60. A higher score indicates greater symptomology.	Change at 8 months
psychotic symptomology	Compass-10. The Compass-10 is a self-report scale that measures multiple symptoms associated with psychosis, including mood symptoms. It consists of 10-items, each scored 0-6 with a minimum score of 0 and a maximum of 60. A higher score indicates greater symptomology.	Change at 4 months
psychotic symptomology	modified-Colorado Symptom Index. The modified-Colorado Symptom Index is a 14-item, clinician-rated scale with items ranked 0-4. Total minimum score = 0. Total maximum score = 56. A higher score indicates greater symptomology.	Change at 4 months
depression	abbreviated version of the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) that has been previously validated (scale, min=0, max=21, higher mean score indicates more severe depressive symptomology)	Change at 8 months
depression	abbreviated version of the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) that has been previously validated (scale, min=0, max=21, higher mean score indicates more severe depressive symptomology)	Change at 4 months
quality of life	4-item version of the Lehman Quality of Life Scale (min = 4, max =28, higher score is improved quality of life)	Change at 6 months
quality of life	4-item version of the Lehman Quality of Life Scale (min = 4, max =28, higher score is improved quality of life)	Change at 4 months
recovery	5-item version of the Questionnaire about the Process of Recovery (scale, min=5, max=25, higher mean indicates more perceived recovery)	Change at 6 months
recovery	5-item version of the Questionnaire about the Process of Recovery (scale, min=5, max=25, higher mean indicates more perceived recovery)	Change at 4 months
treatment motivation (intrinsic versus extrinsic)	Treatment Motivation Questionnaire-Revised (TMQ-R). The Treatment Motivation Questionnaire-Revised is a 25-item self-assessment survey that assesses several elements of treatment motivation, each ranked 1-5. It is not a single scale that results in an overall score. Some items suggest greatest motivation at a 5 and least at a 1, but others suggest greatest motivation at a 1 and least at a 5.	Change at 6 months
treatment motivation (intrinsic versus extrinsic)	Treatment Motivation Questionnaire-Revised (TMQ-R). The Treatment Motivation Questionnaire-Revised is a 25-item self-assessment survey that assesses several elements of treatment motivation, each ranked 1-5. It is not a single scale that results in an overall score. Some items suggest greatest motivation at a 5 and least at a 1, but others suggest greatest motivation at a 1 and least at a 5.	Change at 4 months
Perceived coercion	Modified version of the MacArthur Admission Experience Survey (AES). The MacArthur AES was developed as a self-assessment for assessing coercion and pressure during inpatient admission. It was previously modified for assisted outpatient treatment. We have modified it further to a 13-item scale for outpatient treatment generally. Each item is assessed as true or false, where true suggests great perception of pressure or coercion on some items, but less on others.	Change at 6 months
Perceived coercion	Modified version of the MacArthur Admission Experience Survey (AES). The MacArthur AES was developed as a self-assessment for assessing coercion and pressure during inpatient admission. It was previously modified for assisted outpatient treatment. We have modified it further to a 13-item scale for outpatient treatment generally. Each item is assessed as true or false, where true suggests great perception of pressure or coercion on some items, but less on others.	Change at 4 months
attendance rate	number of appointments attended in a given period divided by number of appointments scheduled	Change over 8 months
attendance rate	number of appointments attended in a given period divided by number of appointments scheduled	Change at 4 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Pennsylvania
• Collaborators: Penn Innovation in Suicide Prevention for Implementation Research (INSPIRE) Center

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 1, 2025
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 18, 2025
• Study Completion (Estimated): July 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 20, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 28, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): August 1, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 11, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 6, 2026
• Last Verified: May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders; Psychotic Disorders; Mental Disorders
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2023-03

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No