Lower Income Associated With Greater Treatment Delays for People With First-Episode Psychosis

An individual ’s personal income appears to play a role in the amount of time between the onset of psychosis and receipt of services to treat first-episode psychosis (FEP), suggests astudy inPsychiatric Services. FEP programs offer a team-based approach to support people recently diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.“The findings of our study highlight the relevance of individual income level as a determinant of health care access for persons with FEP,” wrote Shruthi Venkataraman, M.D., M.Sc., of McGill University and colleagues. “Early detection efforts should measure and target personal income and other [socioeconomic status] indicators to improve access for all individuals who may benefit from FEP services.”The researchers analyzed data from patients enrolled in two first-episode treatment programs —the Program for Specialized Treatment Early in Psychosis (STEP) in New Haven, Conn., and the Prevention and Recovery in Early Psychosis (PREP) in Boston. While STEP relies on an early detection awareness campaign (called Mindmap) to connect patients with FEP services, PREP does not have this type of early detection campaign.The study included a total of 218 people (average age, 22 years; 70% male). About 79% of the participants reported a personal monthly income of less than $1,000, about 13% reported a personal monthly income between $1,000 and $2,000, and 8% reported a personal monthly income more than $2,000. (Personal income, rather than household inc...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: access to treatment first-episode psychosis income personal income Psychiatric Services schizophrenia Source Type: research