Early intervention in psychosis:a data-driven population health approach to reduce the duration of untreated psychosis

Psychosis is a mental health disorder that usually develops around age 21 and can potentially disrupt the personal, social, and affective life of the individual affected. The detection of psychosis early in the course of the disease can reduce suffering and improve outcomes, such as reducing the severity of symptoms at presentation, improving social functioning, reducing self-harm and risk of suicide, improving employment status, and reducing the risk of homelessness. This research shows that early detection initiatives need to be tailored for gender, age, marital status, and duration of illness. Moreover, a broader approach that involves users, families, and stakeholders can help investigators and clinicians to design early intervention initiatives to reduce the delay to effective treatment. The benefits will thus expand to the community, e.g. by reducing involvement with the criminal justice system, by lessening inequalities of access to and quality of care for women with a first episode of psychosis, by decentralizing and expanding the offering of evidence-based best practice treatment