title: Brief case management versus usual care for frequent users of emergency departments: the Coordinated Access to Care from Hospital Emergency Departments (CATCH-ED) randomized controlled trial.
abstract: Frequent users of hospital emergency departments (EDs) are a medically and socially vulnerable population. This article describes the rationale for a brief case management intervention for frequent ED users with mental health and/or addiction challenges and the design of a randomized trial assessing its effectiveness.
  
  
  
  Eligible participants are adults in a large urban centre with five or more ED visits in the past year, with at least one prior visit for a mental health or addictions reason. Participants (N = 166) will be randomized to either 4 to 6 months of brief case management or usual care, and interviewed every 3 months for 1 year. Consent will be sought to access administrative health records. A subset of participants (N = 20) and service providers (N = 13) will participate in qualitative data collection.
  
  
  
  Addressing the needs of frequent ED users is a priority in many jurisdictions. This study will provide evidence on the effectiveness of brief case management, compared to usual care, on reducing ED visits among frequent ED users experiencing mental health or substance misuse problems, and inform policy and practice in this important area.
  
  
  
  ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01622244 . Registered 4 June 2012.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Urban Health Solutions, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada. vicky.stergiopoulos@camh.ca.|Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. vicky.stergiopoulos@camh.ca.|Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada. vicky.stergiopoulos@camh.ca.
authors.forename: Vicky
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3941-9434
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Stergiopoulos
authors.affiliation: Centre for Urban Health Solutions, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Agnes
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gozdzik
authors.affiliation: Centre for Urban Health Solutions, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tan de Bibiana
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Guimond
authors.affiliation: Centre for Urban Health Solutions, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada.|Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Stephen W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Donald A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Wasylenki
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.|Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Molyn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leszcz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D019090:Case Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006296:Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009864:Ontario; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000628:therapy; D014504:Urban Health
keywords: Addictions; Case management; Emergency department; Frequent users; Mental health; Randomized controlled trial