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Illness Management and Recovery (IMR) in Danish Community Mental Health Centres

Illness Management and Recovery (IMR) in Danish Community Mental Health Centres: Protocol of a Randomized, Assessor-blinded Multi-centre Clinical Trial of a Recovery-oriented Program for People With Schizophrenia or Bipolar Disorder

Status
Completed
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT01361698
Acronym
IMR
Enrollment
198
Registered
2011-05-27
Start date
2011-02-01
Completion date
2014-12-01
Last updated
2026-02-04

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia

Keywords

recovery, illness management, rehabilitation, mental illness, psychosocial intervention, Clinical recovery (increase in functioning, decrease in symptoms), Personal recovery (Hope, optimism, living a fulfilling life)

Brief summary

The aim of this trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Illness Management and Recovery program for people diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder in according to their level of functioning.

Detailed description

Background: Illness Management and Recovery (IMR) is a curriculum-based psychosocial intervention designed as structured program with a recovery-oriented approach. The aim of IMR is to rehabilitate people with severe mental illnesses by helping them acquire knowledge and skills in managing their illness and achieve personal recovery goals. Previous randomised clinical trials indicate that IMR can be implemented with a good effect and a high fidelity though further trials are crucial to demonstrate the potential effectiveness of IMR. Methods/Design: The trial design is a randomised, assessor-blinded, multi-centre, clinical trial of the IMR program compared with treatment as usual for 200 participants diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder under the care of two community mental health centres in the Capital Region of Denmark. The primary outcome is level of functioning at the end of treatment and at follow-up 21 months after baseline. The secondary outcomes are disease symptoms; use of alcohol/drugs; individual meaning of recovery; hope; hospital admissions and out-patient psychiatric treatment at the end of treatment and at follow-up 21 months after baseline.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALIllness Management and Recovery (IMR)

In this Danish trial IMR will be implemented in group format with 10 patients assigned to each group and two IMR facilitators, and the IMR program will require nine months of weekly sessions to complete.

Sponsors

Amager Hospital
Lead SponsorOTHER
Mental Health Centre Copenhagen, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital
CollaboratorOTHER
The Danish Health Fund
CollaboratorUNKNOWN

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* adults (age 18+) * both sexes * associated with one of the two participating community mental health centres * diagnosed following the ICD-10 criteria of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder * able to speak and understand Danish * giving informed consent verbally and in writing

Exclusion criteria

* have a guardian or a forensic psychiatric arrangement * comorbidity with the ICD-10 criteria of the diagnoses of dementia or mental retardation * a large-scale substance abuse - if later on the abuse is under control inclusion in the trial will be possible * a current home of supported housing - since the treatment as usual given to this group of patients is significant different from patients living independently * a current involvement in a psycho-educational course - patients are eligible for participation in the trial after the psycho-educational course has ended if they meet the inclusion criteria at this point * not given informed consent.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frame
Global Assessment of Function9 months and 21 months

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
PANSS9 and 21 months follow-upPositive and Negative Syndrome Scale
IMR Scale9 and 21 months follow-up
Personal and Social Performance9 and 21 months
Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression9 & 21 months
Young Mania Rating Scale9 & 21 months
Mental Health Recovery Measure9 and 21 months
The Adult State Hope Scale9 and 21 months

Countries

Denmark

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Mar 4, 2026