Reducing Duration of Untreated Psychosis: Strengthening the Case for Early Detection Campaigns.

OBJECTIVE

The Clear Answers to Louisiana Mental Health (CALM) campaign's objective is to reduce the duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) of patients experiencing first-episode psychosis in the New Orleans community.

METHODS

CALM used mass transit and digital marketing and local community engagement strategies to reduce DUP in referrals to the Early Psychosis Intervention Clinic-New Orleans. DUP measures were collected for clinic referrals pre- and post-CALM launch (N=116). Analytics from marketing strategies were used to evaluate campaign success.

RESULTS

In the first 12 months of CALM, the mean DUP from onset of psychotic symptoms to clinic entry decreased from a median of 6.6 (interquartile range [IQR]=2.5-14.9) to 2.1 (IQR=1.1-10.7) months. Time from onset of psychotic symptoms to first antipsychotic treatment decreased from a median of 2.0 (IQR=0.5-8.6) to 0.2 (IQR=0.0-0.7) months.

CONCLUSIONS

The CALM campaign produced promising results for reducing DUP in referrals to a coordinated specialty care program.