Joint Crisis Plans or Crisis Cards for People With Severe Mental Disorders to Reduce Coercion in Psychiatric Care.

Summary

This randomized clinical trial compares the influence of joint crisis plans (JCP) or crisis cards to reduce psychiatric coercion for people with severe and often recurring mental illnesses like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or schizoaffective disorder. Both interventions will be carried out as an integrated part of otherwise standard psychiatric in-patient and out-patient care in psychiatric units specializing in the acute or non-acute treatment of mentioned mental illnesses.

Conditions

• Schizophrenia
• Bipolar Disorder
• Schizoaffective Disorder

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

joint crisis plan

Joint crisis plans are consensual written patient-clinic-agreements for future crisis intervention, especially for people with recurring severe mental illnesses. In case of relapse, they provide the hospital with contact information and detailed patient's preferences regarding medical, psychological and psychosocial measures. Thus JCPs aim to implement patient self-determination rights, prevent psychiatric coercion and foster self-management and recovery. Between the patient and the clinic represented by the attending physician a joint crisis plan is to be negotiated and agreed upon on individual basis as part of inpatient care. If possible this is to be facilitated by peer counselors or another third party. If for an in-patient the process is not completed until the end of the hospital stay it becomes part of regular outpatient aftercare.

BEHAVIORAL

crisis card

Crisis cards are credit card-sized booklets to be kept preferably always at hand. They can contain important information: persons to contact, current medication, basic treatment preferences and hints to advance directives or other existing legal documents. They may be of use in the event of a mental health crisis and help to quickly receive appropriate support. When the in-patient is to be released from the clinic, the attending physician and the patient together fill out a crisis card. Out-patients get their crisis cards during the next routine visit to their clinic doctor's office.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Federal Ministry of Health, Germany

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Gemeindepsychiatrischer Verbünde e. V.

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Aktion Psychisch Kranke e. V.

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Charite University, Berlin, Germany

  collaborator OTHER

• Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Thomas Bock, Prof. Dr. · Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf

• Candelaria I. Mahlke, Dr. phil. · Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2017-05-01

Primary Completion

2019-06-30

Completion

2019-06-30

Countries

• Germany

Study Locations