Aims – The Outcome Questionnaire (OQ-45.2; Lambert et al., 2004) was designed to measure important areas of functioning (symptoms, interpersonal problems and social role functioning) that are of central interest in mental health. The crosscultural validity of the OQ-45.2 in the Italian population has been examined by comparing the psychometric properties and equivalence in factor structure and normative scores of the Italian OQ with the original American version. Method – Data were collected at university (N=461), in community (N=61) and in three mental health care organisations (N=301). Results – Results showed that the psychometric properties of the Italian OQ were adequate and similar to the original instrument. The CFA supported the multidimentional construct system of the instrument. Furthermore, normative scores were different for the Italian and American samples and this resulted in different cutoff scores for estimating clinically significant change in the Italian population. Conclusions – The Italian version of the OQ-45.2 appears promising as a measure of general psychological distress, and it could be used to measure the psychotherapy outcome in routine clinical practice.

Declaration of Interest:

Aims – Evidence from the literature show that patients affected by psychosis rarely are informed about their diagnosis and/or involved in the decision making process regarding the therapeutic program. The aim of the present study is to investigate psychiatrists' clinical experiences, beliefs and attitudes towards communicating the diagnosis to patients affected by psychosis. Method – Three focus groups were conducted with 28 psychiatrists of different levels of expertise (10 senior psychiatrists and 18 psychiatrists in training), all working at the South-Verona Community-based Mental Health Service. The group discussions were audiotaped and transcribed. The authors derived different thematic categories which were used by two raters to classify all contributions of the psychiatrists. Results – The main themes of interest which emerged were: experience with the communication of the diagnosis of psychosis and main communication strategies used; obstacles and personal difficulties in giving such information. Conclusions – In the psychiatric setting the disclosure of the diagnosis of psychosis implies different clinical and ethical issues and is felt as highly problematic. These findings suggest a need of psychiatrists to involve the psychotic patient in the information giving process in order to learn his/her informative needs which are the starting point for individually tailored information.

The authors have no potential conflict of interest related to the subject of the paper. No economic support has been received for this study.

Aims – The aim of this work is to present the main discrepancies, as evidenced by the SIEP-DIRECT's Project, between the evidence-based NICE guidelines for schizophrenia and the usual practices of the Italian mental health services in order to promote the recovery of patients with schizophrenia. Methods – Starting from the main NICE recommendations on recovery promotion, 41 indicators were developed. These were experimented in 19 participating Italian Mental Health Departments (MHD) or Psychiatric Services through self-evaluation of the activities carried out to promote patient recovery with the aim of assessing the level of adherence to the recommendations. The data required by most of the indicators were obtained from the psychiatric informative system or from the Direction of the MHD. Moreover, specific research was carried out on the clinical records and on representative patient samples. Furthermore, for 14 indicators, there was requested an assessment by the part of “multidisciplinary” or “specialistic” focus groups who then attributed a score according to a defined “ad hoc” scale. Results – According to the data obtained, although the mental health services seem to care about the physical condition of their patients, they do not routinely examine principle parameters such as blood pressure, glycaemia etc., and collaboration with general practitioners is often complex or not uniformly practiced. Most psychiatrists and psychologists possess the basic communication skills but not enough competences in cognitive-behavioural treatments; such treatments, and every other form of structured individual psychotherapy, are seldom carried out and seem to have become marginal activities within the Services. Also family psycho-educational interventions are under-used. The Services are very active in the care of multi-problem schizophrenia patients, who make up a large percentage (almost a quarter, on average) of the patients in their care. These patients are offered specific and integrated treatment plans with the involvement of other health services and social agencies operating in the territory. The strategies adopted by the services for the pharmacological treatment in the prevention of relapses and for patients with frequent crises or with treatment-resistant schizophrenia are all in line with the NICE recommendations. Finally, the Services promote activities of vocational training and supported employment, but the outcomes of these are often unsatisfactory. Conclusions – The results of the study show a picture of the Italian mental health services with bright yet also dark areas as regards recovery promotion activities. The Services seem to guarantee adequate pharmacological evidence-based treatments, an integrated assistance and good management of multi-problem patients. They have difficulty, however, with respect to the monitoring of the physical health of the patients, psychotherapeutic activities, including those for families, and the promotion of supported employment. Moreover, they still show problems regarding the structuring and formalizing of care processes. To improve this situation, they should make greater use of professional guidelines, protocols and written procedures.

Declaration of Interest: None.

Aims – Psychosis is a traumatic experience for both sufferers and their families. The morbidity and mortality associated with psychosis may be improved by an assertive, specialised, multidisciplinary approach to care, provided at the earliest opportunity. Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) uses such approach to improve the individual's short and long-term symptomatic and functional outcome, as well as quality of life. However, there is still controversy about whether this type of intervention is effective enough to justify its associated costs. Methods – We reviewed evidence from the literature on EIP for schizophrenia spectrum and non-affective psychoses, with particular attention to evidence on its effectiveness in reducing the duration of untreated symptoms, preventing relapses and reducing admission rates, reducing suicide rates, and reducing treatment costs. Results – There is preliminary evidence that EIP may be effective in delaying transition to psychosis, reducing DUP, preventing relapses, reducing admission and suicidal rates, and reducing treatment costs. Discussion – EIP remains a stimulating multidisciplinary approach to psychosis and a demanding commitment for mental health professionals and service developers.

Declaration of Interest: None.

Aims – To date only a few studies investigated the clinical reasons supporting and explaining non-classical antipsychotic prescriptions. The present study was carried out to develop concepts which help understand this phenomenon in a natural setting, giving emphasis to views of clinicians according to quali – quantitative research methodologies. Subjects – From the South-Verona Psychiatric Case Register all antipsychotic prescriptions issued during 2005 were extracted. Concurrent prescribing of two or more antipsychotics, prescribing antipsychotic drugs outside the licensed indications, and outside the licensed ranges of doses reported in the Italian National Formulary, were considered non-classical prescriptions. Reasons for non-classical prescriptions were collected by means of brainstorming sessions with clinicians. Non-classical prescriptions and the corresponding reasons were grouped according to whether they were “clinically sound” or “clinically not sound”. Results – During 2005 a total of 259 patients received 376 non-classical prescriptions. The most frequently reported reasons for non-classical prescribing were that prescriptions were inherited from another clinician with or without benefit, and that prescriptions were motivated by the need of reducing psychotic symptoms. More than 60% of these non-classical prescriptions were categorised as “clinically sound”. Clinically not sound prescriptions were related with negative clinicians’ views and opinions about the patient/clinician relationship. Conclusion – Clinically not sound prescriptions appeared just a reflection of a problematic doctor/patient relationship, where no individual treatment plan existed and psychiatric visits had the only goal of monitoring ongoing prescriptions.

Declaration of Interest: This study received no funding. We have no conflicts of interest.

Backgroung – Little is known about specific treatment needs of mentally ill clients abusing substances and infected by HIV. The major gap concerns residential programmes. Aims – To explore differences in outcomes between seropositive and seronegative dually diagnosed opiate dependent clients who participated in a residential therapy programme. Methods – Data were gathered on 154 clients treated in a therapeutic community in Milan between October 1999 and September 2004. Odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were used to study the association between HIV serostatus and outcome. Results – At 12-month follow-up, seropositive clients were more likely to relapse. Conclusions – The impact of HIV seropositivity on behavioural outcomes should be taken into consideration when planning residential programmes for the HIV (+) dually diagnosed population. Further research could test the need of incorporating dedicated treatments into existing programmes.

Declaration of interest: None.

Aims – Characteristics of patients living in residential care facilities and the availability of mental hospital- and residential beds in Italy and The Netherlands were compared to assess whether differences in the process of deinstitutionalisation have influenced the composition of their residential patient populations. Methods – Data from the Dutch UTOPIA-study (UTilization & Outcome of Patients In the Association of Dutch residential care providers) and the Italian PROGRES-study were used. Results – Dutch residents were more likely to suffer from substance or alcohol abuse than Italian residents. The latter were more likely to suffer from schizophrenia or a related disorder, less likely to have experienced mental hospital admissions and showed an overall shorter duration of stay in residential care facilities. Contrary to our expectations Dutch residents, who still have good access to long stay beds in mental hospitals, are not less disabled than Italian residents. Finally, the number of beds in residential care facilities per 10,000 inhabitants in the Netherlands is twice (6) as high as in Italy (3). Conclusions – The Italian and Dutch deinstitutionalisation processes have resulted in a different availability in the number of residential beds. However, it did not influence the overall level of functioning of both residential populations.

Declaration of interest: An unconditional grant was received from the Alliance of the 22 Dutch independent residential care providers.

Aims – To evaluate the quality of acute psychiatric care concerning the management of violent behaviour and rapid tran-quilization. Methods – Data concerning 13 indicators, drawn from NICE recommendations, were collected in 19 Departments of Mental Health, in the frame of the SIEP-DIRECT's Project, to evaluate the implementation of NICE recommendations in Italian Mental Health Services. Results – In about two thirds of Departments of Mental Health (DMHs) professionals were trained in the management of violent behaviour, while written procedures existed only in one fourth of DMHs. About a half of the professionals working in Psychiatric Wards in General Hospital were trained in rapid tranquilization, while procedures on this topic are practically absent and specific care for monitoring intensively the heavily sedated patient was not frequent. Conclusions – Management of violent behaviour and rapid tranquilization are two critical areas in the care performed by Psychiatric Wards in General Hospital. Training on these topics is more frequent than implementation of procedures. NICE recommendations and SIEP indicators are useful tools for improving the quality of acute psychiatric care.

Declaration of Interest: None.

Negli ultimi anni il modello categoriale della psicosi e della schizofrenia in particolare, è stato riconsiderato a favore di una visione dimensionale. Questa assume che I sintomi psicotici differiscono in modo quantitativo dalle normali esperienze psichiche distribuendosi lungo un continuum che va dalla popolazione clinica affetta da schizofrenia ad individui con disturbo di personalità, fino alla popolazione generale che può mostrare esperienze simil psicotiche (Hanssen et al., 2003; Johns & Phil, 2005). Tale continuità fenomenologica è suggerita da studi che mostrano che le dimensioni del fenotipo della psicosi subclinica sono molto simili a quelle identificate nei disturbi clinici (Van Os et al. 2000; Van Os & Tamminga, 2007; Rossler et al., 2007). Sono state infatti riportate dimensioni positive e negative sia in ambito clinico che subclinico, mentre più incerta appare la presenza della dimensione disorganizzazione (Vollema & Hoijtink, 2000; van Os et al., 2002). Vari studi hanno riportato che i fenotipi clinico e non clinico condividono fattori di rischio, meccanismi psicologici ed i pattern epidemiologici (Sharpley & Peters,1999; Johns & van Os, 2001; van Os et al., 2001), fornendo un'ulteriore prova che l'espressione clinica e subclinica delle psicosi fanno parte dello stesso continuum.

Aims – To highlight the major discrepancies that emerged between evidence and routine practice in the framework of the SIEP-DIRECT's Project (DIscrepancy between Routine practice and Evidence in psychiatric Community Treatments on Schizophrenia ). The Project was conducted in 19 Italian mental health services (MHS), with the aims of: a) evaluating the appropriateness of the NICE Guidelines for Schizophrenia in the Italian context, b) developing and testing a set of 103 indicators that operationalised preferred clinical practice requirements according to the NICE Guidelines, and c) evaluating their actual application in Italian MHSs. Methods – The indicators investigated five different areas: common elements in all phases of schizophrenia; first episode treatment; crisis treatment; promoting recovery; the aggressive behaviour management. Results – The NICE recommendations examined were judged in most instances to be appropriate to the Italian MHS context, and the indicators fairly easy to use. The more severe and frequently encountered evidence-practice discrepancies were: lack of written material, guidelines, and information to be systematically provided to users; lack of intervention monitoring and evaluation; difficulty in implementingspecific and structured forms of intervention; difficulty in considering patients' family members as figures requiring targeted support themselves and who should also be regularly involved in the patient care process. Conclusions – The key actions to be undertaken to favour implementation of evidence-based routine practices are: focussing on mental illness onset and family support/involvement in care; planning training activities aimed at achieving specific treatment goals; encouraging MHS participation in evaluation activities; identifying thresholds for guideline application and promoting specific guideline implementation actions; and activating decision making and resource allocationprocesses that rely more strictly on evidence and epidemiological assessment. These considerations are of value for rethinking the model of community psychiatry in Italy as well as in other countries.

Declaration of Interest: None.