Skip to content

Reducing Early Readmission to an Acute Psychiatric Unit

Implementation and Evaluation of a Transition to Discharge Program for the Reduction of Early Readmission in a Mental Health Inpatient Unit

Status
Recruiting
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06604780
Acronym
PPREINGRESOS
Enrollment
836
Registered
2024-09-20
Start date
2023-01-01
Completion date
2025-03-30
Last updated
2024-09-20

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

Conditions

Hospitalizations Psychiatric, Mental Health Disorder, Readmission

Keywords

early readmission, discharge interventions, psychyatric unit, continuity of care, psychotherapy group, recovery

Brief summary

Early readmission to psychiatric units poses a significant challenge for both patients with mental health issues and healthcare institutions. It hampers patient progress and prognosis, and the professional approach taken during discharge can greatly influence the recovery process. This paper proposes a multicomponent discharge transition intervention to mitigate the risk of early readmission to a Mental Health Hospitalization Unit (MHHU). The intervention entails developing a measurement scale to assess patients' risk of early readmission, allowing for stratification into high, medium, and low-risk categories. Tailored intervention strategies will focus on ensuring adherence and continuity of care post-discharge, with a more comprehensive approach for high-risk patients. Additionally, a post-discharge psychotherapeutic group will be incorporated for high-risk cases to support recovery. The efficacy of the program will be analyzed by comparing the overall early readmission risk at the Regional Hospital of Malaga's MHHU with the previous year, using admission episodes from two other hospitals in the province as a control group where the intervention program is not implemented. The success of the post-discharge group psychotherapeutic intervention will be evaluated through pre-post assessments of recovery measures, functionality, subjective well-being, social support, and treatment satisfaction. This proposal aims to address the issue of early readmission to psychiatric units by enhancing predictability and understanding of intervention strategies to reduce readmission rates.

Detailed description

The aim of this study is, firstly, to create a tool for assessing the risk of early readmission that allows for stratification of admitted patients according to their risk level, based on the analysis of clinical and sociodemographic variables. The second objective is to implement an intervention program tailored to each risk level, involving coordination among all involved mental health units and a specific intensive program for patients at higher risk. The present study is a quasi-experimental cluster clinical trial aimed at assessing the efficacy of a multicomponent discharge transition program for the reduction of early readmissions in a MHHU. The development of this study consists of two distinct parts or elements: To carry out the main objective, a quasi-experimental design with a control group will be used, and within the intervention, an early readmission risk assessment scale will be created to categorize patients into different risk levels. In addition, a study will be conducted to assess the predictive value and validity of the early readmission risk rating scale and to study the risk factors for early readmission.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALTransitional discharge program

For patients classified in the low-risk group, general measures would be applied. For patients in the medium-risk group, reinforced measures would be implemented. Lastly, for patients considered to be in the high-risk group, intensive case management measures would be applied, and if they meet the inclusion criteria, they would be included in the Post-Discharge Group Psychotherapeutic Intervention. 1. General measures 2. Reinforcement measures 3. Intensive measures * Intensive case management measures * Post-Discharge Psychotherapeutic Recovery Support Program: For application to patients at high risk of early readmission who meet the inclusion criteria. It consists of a multicomponent group psychotherapeutic intervention from a rehabilitative and recovery-oriented perspective. This intervention will be structured into 20 sessions, each lasting 90 minutes, held weekly in an open format.

Sponsors

Fundación Pública Andaluza para la Investigación de Málaga en Biomedicina y Salud
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

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

Inclusion criteria

* All hospital admission episodes at MHHU during the 12 months following the implementation of the Discharge Transition Intervention Program will be considered. * The experimental group, to which the Discharge Transition Intervention Program will be applied, will consist of users whose Community Mental Health Units (CMHU) are affiliated with the Regional Hospital of Málaga.

Exclusion criteria

• Users belonging to other hospitals in the province will be excluded from the intervention program and will form part of the control group. Post-Discharge Group Psychotherapy Support Recovery has its own eligibility criteria: Inclusion criteria: * Be of legal age. * Speak spanish fluently. * Have had recent admission to the MHHU of the Regional Hospital of Málaga and a score considered as High Risk on the Early Rehospitalization Risk Scale or have experienced an early rehospitalization. * Belong to the Clinical Management Unit of Mental Health of the RUH of Málaga. * Have sufficient cognitive capacity to understand the rules and contents of the group intervention.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Early readmission rateData will be collected over the 12 months following the implementation of the intervention program.Changes in the percentage of early readmissions over the total number of recorded admission episodes, considering early readmission as any admission episode that occurs within 30 days after hospital discharge.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
RecoveryFive months between pre and post evaluationChanges in measures of recovery, will be assessed through pre-post administration of the QPR-15-SP questionnaire.
FunctionalityFive months between pre and post evaluationChanges in measures of functionality, will be assessed through pre-post administration of the PSP questionnaire.
Subjective well-beingFive months between pre and post evaluationChanges in measures of subjective well-being, will be assessed through pre-post administration of the Core-Om questionnaire.
Satisfaction with treatmentFive months between pre and post evaluationChanges in measures of satisfaction with treatment, will be assessed through pre-post administration of the CAT questionnaire.
Perceived social supportFive months between pre and post evaluationChanges in Perceived social support will be assessed through pre-post administration of the DUKE-UNK questionnaire.

Countries

Spain

Contacts

Primary ContactVera Carbonell Aranda, Bachelor
vera.caar@hotmail.com695992369
Backup ContactJosé Guzmán Parra, Doctor
jose.guzman.parra.sspa@juntadeandalucia.es951290307

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Apr 26, 2026