COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF SIX TREATMENTS FOR SCHIZOPHRENIA

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DESCRIPTION: (Adapted from Applicant's Abstract): This study examines the cost-effectiveness of the 6 outpatient treatments for schizophrenia implemented in the ongoing NIMH "Treatment Strategies in Schizophrenia" (TSS) cooperative study. The TSS study is a 5-site, 8-Year collaborative clinical trial which examines 3 antipsychotic medication maintenance strategies (standard, low, and intermittent dose) in combination with 2 psychosocial family interventions (applied behavioral and supportive ) in a 3x2 factorial design. Earlier studies have demonstrated separately the effectiveness of dose reduction and family interventions, but the TSS study is the first to examine the interactive effects of medication and family treatments. The TSS study will involve approximately 370 patients with research diagnoses of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or schizophreniform disorder who are in ongoing contact with their family of origin. The proposed cost-effectiveness study capitalizes on the unique opportunity to compare the relative cost-effectiveness of 6 well specified, carefully implemented community treatments for schizophrenia in a well-defined patient population at 5 clinical sites. The study will enumerate the societal costs of schizophrenic illness, compare the cost-effectiveness of the treatments using a variety of effectiveness measures, and compare the different types of costs incurred by each treatment group.