RECONNECT

Overview

We are interested in the evaluation of intensive models of community mental health care, such as assertive community treatment, flexible assertive community treatment and community mental health rehabilitation.

These models share a focus on people with more severe mental health problems, they usually provide some degree of home-based (‘in-vivo’) outreach and often work with a ‘shared caseload’ approach.

Research in this area includes quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods studies investigating the implementation and effectiveness of these kinds of services, and studies that inform the influence of contextual factors on their implementation and outcomes.

The RECONNECT network aims to: 

• provide a forum for the exchange of information on this topic 
• enable discussion about relevant research ideas at any stage of development (from design through to dissemination) 
• build research collaborations 
• develop applications for funding for multicentre international research projects

Scope

We are interested in:

• any research that focuses on intensive models of community mental health care, including
  • qualitative studies
  • quantitative studies (e.g. epidemiological surveys, case-control studies, cohort studies, trials)
  • mixed methods studies
• studies that fall under the remit of ‘implementation science’, such as process evaluations and realist reviews
• studies that aim to understand more about / the most effective components of specific models
• studies that investigate the relationship between the effectiveness of intensive community mental health care models and factors operating at the service user, service, organisational, societal and policy levels
• studies that provides insights into different stakeholders’ perspectives, including those of
  • service users, their families and informal carers
  • service planners and clinicians
  • people working in the wider system that interfaces with intensive community mental health care, such as local authorities, social care, welfare and benefits, housing, employment, education and voluntary services

Webinars

RECONNECT organises regular webinars to discuss and disseminate research ideas and findings. Please see calendar for details of our forthcoming webinars and how to register.