Community-Basedโ Mental Healthcare Considerably Improves โขOutcomes in Southeast Europe, Landmark โคStudy Finds
SOFIA, โฃBulgaria โค – A large-scale, multi-country study reveals thatโค a recovery-oriented, community-based mentalโ healthcare (CMH) approach โขdramatically improves functioning and quality of lifeโข for individualsโ with severe mental illness compared to traditional, treatment-as-usual โค(TAU) care.โ The findings, stemming โคfrom pooled dataโ across five randomized trialsโข in โขBulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, โMontenegro, and Romania, offer compelling evidence for a shift in mental healthcareโฃ delivery across Southeast โEurope and beyond.
The research, published today, demonstrates a critically importent reduction in disability and a boost inโ overallโ well-beingโค for patientsโฃ receivingโฃ CMH. This is especiallyโ crucial as healthcare systems worldwide grapple with the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, wich โexacerbated existing challenges in mental โขhealthโ service provision. The study’s rigorous methodology, including sensitivity analysesโข to account for pandemic-related โdisruptions, strengthensโฃ the reliability of its conclusionsโฃ and โฃprovides a roadmapโ for scalable, effective interventions.
The five-country studyโ followed participants with โschizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and severe depression for 18 months. Results โshowed those receiving CMH experienced a 4.55โ point reduction inโ WHODAS โขdisability scores (b=-4.55, SE=1.21, โคz=-3.75,โ p<0.001) – a statistically significant advancement.Furthermore,qualityโ of lifeโค improved by 0.07 utility โฃunits (b=0.07, SE=0.014, z=4.56, p<0.001), translating to โan estimated 25โฃ additional days of full health. These positive effects were consistent across all five โcountries and โacross โall assessed WHODAS subdomains, including cognition,โ mobility, self-care, social interaction, โคand daily activities.
Researchers employed mixed modelling and a sensitivity analysis to adjust for the impact ofโ COVID-19 on healthcare delivery and outcomes,ensuring the robustness of โthe findings. The study’s implications are clear: recovery-oriented CMH is โan effective model for improving theโ lives of people living with severe mental illness, and its implementation shouldโ be prioritized โacross diverse healthcare systems.
Trialโข registration numbers are โฃavailable for each โcountry: Bulgariaโฃ (NCT03922425), โขCroatia (NCT03862209), Macedonia (NCT03892473), Montenegro (NCT03837340), and Romania (NCT03884933).
Keywords: Health services research; Mental Health โฃ& psychiatry; Randomised control trial.