title: Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) in Singapore: a 1-year follow-up study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) provides community-based treatment to patients with severe and persistent psychiatric illnesses, so that they may continue to live and function in the community as they receive psychiatric care. This study aimed to examine the effects of ACT on the outcome of patients over a 1-year period in an Asian population.
  
  
  METHODS
  This naturalistic and retrospective cohort study examined the effects of ACT on 100 patients who had completed 1 year of ACT. Parameters used to measure primary outcome were i) number of admissions (NOA) and ii) total length of stay (LOS) in days. Secondary outcome compared the employment status of patients before and after ACT. Paired sample analyses were performed using SPSS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The mean reduction in NOA 1 year post-ACT was 57.1%. The mean reduction in LOS 1 year post-ACT was 61.9%. The median reduction for NOA and LOS were both statistically significant (P <0.01). Thirty-seven patients were employed compared to 6 before the programme, a statistically significant effect on employment (odds ratio 9.69, P <0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ACT appears effective in reducing the frequency and duration of admissions for patients in Singapore. The employment status of patients also showed improvement over the course of study.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Psychiatry, Institute of Mental Health, Singapore. jhnsnfm@gmail.com
authors.forename: Johnson
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fam
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Boon-Leng
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Kiang-Kim
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003156:Community Mental Health Services / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D003158:Community Psychiatry / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012846:Singapore; D012917:Social Adjustment