Saturday, April 20, 2024
4/20/2024
Over 100,000 individuals in the US develop psychosis each year, with onset most typically around the age of 20. Young people who experience psychosis are at high risk for poor community participation outcomes in domains such as friendships and relationships; recreation and wellness activities; attendance at community events and use of public and commercial community facilities and amenities; and participation in education, training and employment. Increasingly, specialized early psychosis programs (also called “first-episode psychosis programs” and “coordinated specialty care”) are being implemented in the United States as a means of improving the long-term trajectory and prognosis for schizophrenia and related conditions through early intervention. Research has shown that young people who take part in early psychosis programs make some gains in community participation; but despite these gains, participants and graduates of early psychosis programs remain at high risk for experiencing loneliness and isolation, and low rates of engagement in activities and settings across the domains of community participation. Poor outcomes are even more pronounced among young people of color, and young people with fewer socioeconomic resources. Peer support—a unique form of service provided by young adults who have experienced psychosis themselves—is seen by researchers, service providers and young people as holding unique promise to improve community participation outcomes and address disparities among participants in early psychosis programs. To date, however, realizing this promise has been hindered by a lack of clearly defined peer roles. Role clarity for peer support is also a prerequisite for research examining questions about whether and how peer support works to improve outcomes. The project will develop and pilot test an intervention package—including a practice model and related implementation supports—for PLUS, a structured one-on-one supported community participation intervention implemented by peer support specialists (PSSs) within early psychosis programs. PLUS aims to increase self-determined community participation, program engagement, and related outcomes for young people who participate in early psychosis programs. Key parts of the PLUS intervention to be developed include a practice model for the PSSs who are providing PLUS, a reliable practice fidelity assessment, and trainings for PSSs and their supervisors and co-workers. The process of developing the intervention will include ongoing collaboration with a Young Adult Advisory Board, comprised of a diverse group of young adults who are current and former participants in early psychosis programs. Additional stakeholders will provide oversight via the Project Advisory Board. Intervention development will also be informed by multiple rounds of user testing with stakeholders, to ensure that each PLUS component is perceived by users as feasible, acceptable, engaging and worthwhile. The pilot test will provide data to answer research questions on feasibility, acceptability and engagingness, as well as questions regarding PLUS’s impact on outcomes. The project is a collaboration between researchers and partnering early psychosis sites representing a range of community contexts and a diversity of young adult participants. PLUS is an intervention development project focusing on the domain of community living and participation.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
