Evaluation of a community mental health carepath for early psychosis.

PURPOSE

To implement a carepath for early psychosis across all community mental health centres through the Early Psychosis Intervention Programme in the Fraser South Area of British Columbia, Canada.

METHODS

Prior to developing the carepath, chart reviews and interviews were performed to assess for adherence to published guidelines for early psychosis intervention. This assessment revealed the inadequacies of narrative recording and that core psychosocial interventions were inconsistently provided. The carepath developed included prompts for interventions and standardized assessments and ultimately replaced the charting system used in the mental health centres for early psychosis clients.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

One-year evaluation revealed some improvements in clinical practice but also identified other areas that require further improvement. This project demonstrated that it is possible to successfully implement a carepath in community mental health and that doing so provides a standardized method for ongoing improvements in care.