# A pre-post study design: evaluating the effectiveness of a new community-based integrated service model on patient outcomes

## TL;DR

This study evaluated a new community-based service model called STIC and found mixed results on patient outcomes.

## Contribution

The study introduces and evaluates a new integrated service model combining FACT principles with specialized outpatient treatment.

## Key findings

- Symptoms of former FACT-patients remained stable post-STIC, contrary to expectations.
- The post-STIC group did not show improved social functioning compared to the pre-STIC group.
- Fewer treatment contacts in the post-STIC group may explain the lack of improvement in outcomes.

## Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate a new service model, Specialists Together In the Community (STIC), in terms of patient outcomes. This model integrates Flexible Assertive Community Treatment (FACT)-principles with expertise of specialized teams that offer diagnosis-related outpatient treatment. In a pre-post design, symptoms and quality of life of 930 former FACT-patients were measured repeatedly pre- and post-STIC. Regarding patients in former specialized teams, pre- and post-treatment social functioning and symptoms were measured for the pre- (n = 944) and post-STIC (n = 544) groups. Against expectation, symptoms of former FACT-patients remained stable post-STIC compared to a slight decrease pre-STIC. According to expectation, pre- and post-STIC groups had an equal symptom reduction. Unexpectedly, the post-STIC group did not improve more on social functioning than the pre-STIC group. Explorative analysis showed less treatment contacts in the post-STIC group. The highly similar patient outcomes post-STIC could be improved by monitoring process outcomes and prolonging study duration.