Can primary mental health services impact levels of involuntary admissions? A cluster-RCT of the ReCoN intervention.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

Internationally, policies and legal changes seek to reduce the use of involuntary psychiatric admissions. Usually directed towards specialist services, these initiatives show little sustained progress. We tested whether an intervention at the level of primary mental health services has potential to reduce the use of involuntary admissions.

Methods

We conducted a two-arm cluster-RCT following Zelen's design (ClinicalTrials.gov:NCT03989765). Each cluster included the primary mental health service and their local collaborators in mid-sized Norwegian municipalities with rates of involuntary admissions above the national average. Five clusters were randomised to co-create and implement a comprehensive intervention. These could not be blinded, but the five control clusters

SUBMITTER: Rugkasa J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12378763 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature