First Episode Psychosis and Pathway to Care in Nordland

First episode psychosis patients often experiences treatment delay. This reduces their prospects for recovery and makes unnecessary burdens for them and their carers. A better understanding of help seeking intentions is required, and has not been explored in a county like Nordland, Norway, with long distances and challenging access to health services. The purpose of this study is to explore the process of help seeking, including how patients and their careers discover and understand the psychotic symptoms. Research exploring the impact on families mainly focuses on parents' experiences, and there are less studies focusing on experiences and needs of siblings. This study will therefore explore siblings' experiences separate from their parents. Methods will be qualitative interviews with patients, their carers and siblings. Analysis will be influenced by Grounded theory.