The Consta Club: A Demonstration Project for Setting up a Consta Club in a Community Mental Health Center
Condition: Schizophrenia; Schizoaffective
MeSH terms: Schizophrenia
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      This study will establish a bi-weekly Consta Club. Participants will begin taking Risperdal
      Consta after being recommended by their treating physician. As a part of the Consta Club
      attendees will receive their injection of Risperdal Consta and be educated about important
      mental health issues. Interviews with study participants will be completed every three months
      to determine the effectiveness of the change to Risperdal Consta and the bi-weekly group. The
      overall hypothesis is that the individuals in Consta Club will have a decrease in walk-in
      visits, emergency procedures and hospitalizations. It is also believed that individuals in
      Consta Club will have fewer symptoms and better levels of functioning.
    

Detailed description: 
      Poor adherence to oral antipsychotic medication leads to rehospitalization, derails the
      process of recovery, and contributes to the high cost of treating schizophrenia.
      Unfortunately, poor adherence is common for individuals with this diagnosis. An organizing
      hypothesis of our research program is that forgetfulness and failure to establish a routine
      that facilitates medication adherence are prominent reasons for non-adherence.

      We have established a thirty minute bi-weekly Consta Club in which individuals will attend a
      social group and and also receive their injection of Risperdal Consta. Consta Club will
      educate individuals about the importance of medication adherence as well as establish a
      routine that facilitates adherence. The club will provide the opportunity for the club
      members to discuss their mental illness, develop goals to recovery, establish a means of
      transportation to the club and participate in drawings to win prizes. The overall hypothesis
      is that the individuals in Consta Club will experience a decrease in walk-in visits,
      emergency procedures and hospitalizations. It is also hypothesized that individuals in Consta
      Club will demonstrate lower levels of symptomatology, higher levels of quality of life and
      improvements in functioning when compared to their baseline.

      A total of twenty-five individuals will be recruited to switch from an oral atypical
      antipsychotic medication to Risperdal Consta which will be supplied by Janssen Pharmaceutica
      at no cost to the individual or the clinic. Individuals will be recruited prior to hospital
      discharge if inpatient at time of recruitment OR from the local mental health clinic.
      Hospitalized individuals will be started on Risperdal Consta prior to discharge and
      outpatients will switch from oral atypical antipsychotics within two weeks. Individuals will
      be receiving a single injection of Risperdal Consta every two weeks. Prior to the switch and
      every 3 months for a period of 9 months the individual will be assessed.
    

Intervention name(s): Consta Club
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Biweekly group for patients receiving Risperdal Consta injections. Each 45 minute group includes socialization time, goal-setting, illness and medication education, and refreshments.
Other intervention name(s): Risperdal Consta
Intervention MeSH terms: Risperidone
Intervention model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: Schizophrenia; Schizoaffective; Risperdal Consta; Medication Adherence; Antipsychotic