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A Brief Treatment Engagement Intervention for Individuals with Co-occurring Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorders: Results of a Randomized Clinical Trial

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Abstract

Study objectives were to evaluate a brief intervention designed to facilitate outpatient engagement following an inpatient psychiatric stay for individuals with mental illness and substance use. A total of 102 veterans were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: (1) Time Limited Care-Coordination (TLC), an eight-week co-occurring disorders intervention or (2) a matched attention (MA) control condition in the form of health education sessions. Both groups also received treatment as usual in inpatient and outpatient settings. Sixty-nine percent of TLC participants attended an outpatient appointment within 14 days of discharge, compared to only 33% of MA participants (P < 0.01). TLC participants were also more likely to be engaged in outpatient services at the end of the intervention period (44 vs. 22%, P < 0.01). This study provided evidence that an eight-week intervention could improve treatment engagement. Research is currently underway to examine impact of TLC intervention beyond the 8 week study period.

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Acknowledgment

This research was supported by grants from the Department of Veterans Affairs-Health Services Research and Development Service: IIR-020-145 (Dr. Smelson). The authors wish to acknowledge the support by veterans who participated in this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Health, Quality, Outcomes and Economic Research, Edith Norse Rogers VA Medical Center, 200 Springs Road, Bedford, MA, 01730, USA

    David Smelson & David Kalman

  2. Department Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 Lake Avenue North, Worcester, MA, 01655, USA

    David Smelson, David Kalman & Usha Sambamoorthi

  3. VA New Jersey Healthcare System, Lyons, NJ, USA

    Miklos F. Losonczy, Anna Kline, Lauren St. Hill & Kathy Castles-Fonseca

  4. Center for Healthcare Knowledge Management, VA New Jersey Healthcare System, East Orange, NJ, USA

    Usha Sambamoorthi

  5. Department Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School/UMass Memorial Health Care, 55 Lake Avenue North, Worcester, MA, 01655, USA

    Douglas Ziedonis

Authors
  1. David Smelson
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  2. David Kalman
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  3. Miklos F. Losonczy
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  4. Anna Kline
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  5. Usha Sambamoorthi
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  6. Lauren St. Hill
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  7. Kathy Castles-Fonseca
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  8. Douglas Ziedonis
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Correspondence to David Smelson.

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Smelson, D., Kalman, D., Losonczy, M.F. et al. A Brief Treatment Engagement Intervention for Individuals with Co-occurring Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorders: Results of a Randomized Clinical Trial. Community Ment Health J 48, 127–132 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-010-9346-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-010-9346-9

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