[Using resource groups in assertive community treatment; literature review and recommendation]

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Mental Health Care
• Schizophrenia Treatment

Background:

• Growing interest in patient and family involvement in treatment goal setting and execution within psychiatry.
• Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) offers a framework for this involvement through Resource Groups (RGs).

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review the benefits of patient control over treatment within ACT.
• To specifically evaluate the advantages of organizing patient control through RGs in ACT.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature review using PubMed and Cochrane Library databases.
• Analysis of nine randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
• Focus on one RCT that incorporated an RG within ACT.

Main Results:

• ACT empowering patients with control over treatment demonstrated significant improvements in symptomatology, social functioning, and quality of life compared to standard care.
• Preliminary evidence suggests enhanced treatment satisfaction and social functioning when patient control is structured via an RG.

Conclusions:

• ACT incorporating patient control yields positive therapeutic results for individuals with schizophrenia.
• Further research is necessary to ascertain if RGs offer superior benefits within ACT compared to existing approaches.