BMC Psychiatry (Sep 2022)

Study protocol of a randomized controlled trial evaluating home treatment with peer support for acute mental health crises (HoPe)

  • Britta Reinke,
  • Candelaria Mahlke,
  • Christina Botros,
  • Alexa Kläring,
  • Martin Lambert,
  • Anne Karow,
  • Jürgen Gallinat,
  • Antonia Zapf,
  • Ann-Kathrin Ozga,
  • Alexandra Höller,
  • Nadia Bustami,
  • Jens Reimer,
  • Jenny Lüdtke,
  • Oliver Schaper,
  • Martin Lison,
  • Andreas Bechdolf,
  • Johanna Baumgardt,
  • Jennifer Spiegel,
  • Olaf Hardt,
  • Sandeep Rout,
  • Sonja Memarzadeh,
  • Sebastian von Peter,
  • Julian Schwarz,
  • Claudia Langer,
  • Sabine Glotz,
  • Karel Frasch,
  • Nicolas Rüsch,
  • Ulf Künstler,
  • Thomas Bock,
  • Thomas Becker

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-022-04247-w
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 22, no. 1
pp. 1 – 10

Abstract

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Abstract Background Home treatment (HT) is a treatment modality for patients with severe mental illness (SMI) in acute mental crises. It is frequently considered equivalent to psychiatric inpatient treatment in terms of treatment outcome. Peer Support (PS) means that people with lived experience of a mental illness are trained to support others on their way towards recovery. While PS is growing in international importance and despite a growing number of studies supporting its benefits, it is still not comprehensively implemented into routine care. The HoPe (Home Treatment with Peer Support) study investigates a combination of both – HT and PS – to provide further evidence for a recovery-oriented treatment of psychiatric patients. Methods In our randomized controlled trial (RCT), HT with PS is compared with HT without PS within a network of eight psychiatric clinical centers from the North, South and East of Germany. We investigate the effects of a combination of both approaches with respect to the prevention of relapse/recurrence defined as first hospitalization after randomization (primary outcome), disease severity, general functioning, self-efficacy, psychosocial health, stigma resistance, recovery support, and service satisfaction (secondary outcomes). A sample of 286 patients will be assessed at baseline after admission to HT care (data point t0) and randomized into the intervention (HT + PS) and control arm (HT). Follow-Up assessments will be conducted 2, 6 and 12 months after admission (resulting in three further data points, t1 to t3) and will be analyzed via intention-to-treat approach. Discussion This study may determine the positive effects of PS added to HT, prove additional evidence for the efficacy of PS and thereby facilitate its further implementation into psychiatric settings. The aim is to improve quality of mental health care and patients’ recovery as well as to reduce the risk of relapses and hospitalizations for patients with SMI. Trial registration The trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04336527 , April 7, 2020.

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