Effectiveness of one-to-one volunteer support for patients with psychosis: protocol of a randomised controlled trial

Abstract

IntroductionSocial isolation is common in patients with psychosis and associated with a number of negative outcomes. Programmes in which volunteers provide one-to-one support—often referred to as befriending—have been reputed to achieve favourable outcomes. However, trial-based evidence for their effectiveness is limited.Methods and analysisThis is a randomised controlled trial comparing the effects of one-to-one volunteer support with an active control condition for patients with psychosis over a 1-year period. Patients in the intervention group will receive the support of a volunteer for 1 year, who will meet them weekly and engage them in social and recreational activities. Patients in the control group will not receive support from a volunteer. In both groups, patients will be given a booklet detailing locally available social activities and otherwise receive treatment as usual. Patients, volunteers, clinicians and researchers involved in the delivery of the intervention will not be blinded to group assignment, while researchers carrying out data collection will be blinded. Data collection will be conducted at baseline, at 6 and 12 months. The primary outcome is the amount of time spent engaging in social activities per day. Secondary outcomes include symptoms, quality of life, self-esteem and costs of care. Attitudes of volunteers towards mentally ill people will be assessed. Finally, in-depth interviews will be conducted with patients and volunteers.Ethics and disseminationThe study has been approved by the National Research Ethics Service (NRES) Committee London—Camden & Kings Cross (reference 15/LO/0674). The findings of the trial will be published in open access peer-reviewed journals and in the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) journals library, and presented at scientific conferences. In addition, findings will be summarised for a lay audience and circulated to all relevant National Health Service (NHS) and voluntary organisations.Trial registration numberISRCTN14021839; Pre-results.

Effectiveness of a volunteer befriending programme for patients with schizophrenia: randomised controlled trial

“…We conducted a parallel groups RCT in community-based mental health services in London, UK, between August 2015 and August 2017 (full details in the published protocol) 18 . Patient-participants were recruited from 15 community services across the London boroughs of City and Hackney, Tower Hamlets and Newham.…”

Characteristics and motivations of volunteers providing one-to-one support for people with mental illness: a survey in Austria

“…The question and answer categories were based on a wider research programme on befriending for patients with mental illness conducted at the Unit for Social and Community Psychiatry at Queen Mary University of London [6, 18, 22]. They reflected themes identified in a systematic review of volunteering in mental health settings [18] and were further refined in a consultative process involving experts working in volunteering organisations in Austria.…”

Cognitive–behavioural therapy for clozapine-resistant schizophrenia: the FOCUS RCT

“…159,160 Similarly, another large study, 159 also using the EQ-5D-3L, looked at the use of antipsychotics in a population with schizophrenia and found that the baseline mean utility was 0.61 to 0.67 (SD 0.29 to 0.33; n = 118). Finally, a recent large study 176 (n = 275) of schizophrenia reported higher values using the EQ-5D-5L, with reported baseline utility values between 0.74 and 0.76.…”