Specialised early intervention teams for recent‐onset psychosis

In this Cochrane systematic review, researchers assessed the effectiveness of using specialized early intervention (SEI) teams, compared to treatment as usual (TAU), to treat people with recent‐onset psychosis.

Researchers found evidence that SEI may provide benefits to service users during treatment, compared to TAU. These benefits may include:

• Fewer disengagements from mental health services (moderate‐certainty evidence)
• Small reductions in psychiatric hospitalization (low‐certainty evidence)
• A small increase in global functioning (low‐certainty evidence) 
• Increased service satisfaction (moderate‐certainty evidence)

The evidence regarding the effect of SEI over TAU after treatment has ended is uncertain. Further evidence investigating the longer‐term outcomes of SEI is needed.

Furthermore, all eligible trials included in this review were conducted in high‐income countries. It’s unclear whether these findings would translate to low‐ and middle‐income countries, where both the intervention and the comparison conditions may be different.