From Prevention to Community Integration: IPCST for Severe Mental Illness in Chinese Communities (Hong Kong and Beijing)

This research is to develop and test on a pilot basis the clinical efficacy of the IPCST on the clinical and recovery outcomes of outpatients with first and recent-onset psychosis in one-year follow-up period in one regional outpatient care service of both Hong Kong and Beijing, China. All outcomes will be assessed by a trained Research Assistant who is blind to group assignment in each city separately. In Hong Kong, the study venue will be one Early Assessment Service for Young People with Early Psychosis (EASY) in Kwai Chung Hospital under the Kowloon West Hospital Cluster, Hospital Authority Hong Kong. In Beijing, the study venues consist of the Sixth Hospital of Peking University, the Chaoyang Third Hospital, and the Haidian Mental Health Hospital. In both sites, the study venues are serving for first or recent-onset psychosis residing in the community. Similar to previous psychosocial interventional studies, the primary outcomes of this study are patients' mental status and level of functioning. Secondary outcomes include the rate and length of psychiatric hospitalizations, vocational status, social skills, family functioning, and quality of life. A total of 100 participants would be recruited for this project, 50 to be recruited from Hong Kong Kwai Chung; 50 to be recruited from mainland China sites. Part I: Participants of this part will be randomly allocated to experimental or control group. Experimental group participants will receive a 12-week, 48-hours of IPCST programme which includes both individual and group training on psychoeducation, motivational interviewing skills, neurocognitive and social cognition, and augmented supported employment with social skills. Control group participants will receive the usual psychiatric treatment they have been receiving from the hospital. All participants will receive assessment on their primary (symptom severity and functioning) and secondary (re-hospitalisation rates, family functioning, social skills, and employment status and satisfaction, and quality of life) outcomes at baseline and immediately (Post-test 1), 6 months (Post-test 2), and 12 months (Post-test 3) after completion of the interventions by a research assistant. Each assessment episode lasts about 1.5 hours. Part II: Participants of this part will undergo a 30 minutes to 1 hour individual interview conducted by a research assistant that covers semi-structured open-ended questions and basic assessment of psychosocial stress, health and mental health status, and quality of life using quantitative measures.