Adherence therapy following an acute episode of schizophrenia: A multi-centre randomised controlled trial

Background: Non-adherence with antipsychotic medication is common in patients with schizophrenia. Aims: To establish the efficacy of adherence therapy (AT) compared to treatment as usual (TAU) in improving medication compliance in patients following an acute episode of schizophrenia. Method: The study was designed as a parallel group, single blind, randomised controlled trial. Fieldwork was conducted in four centres (3 in Germany and 1 in Switzerland) and involved a total of 161 patients. Patients received 8 sessions of AT in addition to treatment as usual. The main outcomes of this study were adherence and psychopathology at 12. weeks post discharge follow up. Results: In total 80 patients received AT and 57 TAU. Intention-to-treat analysis included all randomised patients. Psychopathology, as determined using the PANSS-total, improved in the AT compared to TAU group by a mean of - 6.16 points 12. weeks after discharge from hospital (p < .05). AT had no significant effects on patients' adherence, treatment attitudes or functioning. No significant adverse events were reported. Conclusion: AT improves psychopathology in patients recovering from an acute episode of schizophrenia. © 2013 Elsevier B.V