Community Outreach and Training Efforts Designed to Increase Referrals to a Research Treatment Program: A Model for Replication Across Sites

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded a national demonstration project designed to produce the clinical evidence necessary to validate the routine and widespread use of an early detection and treatment approach to prevent psychosis in adolescents and young adults. This multi-site replication study is known as the Early Detection and Intervention for the Prevention of Psychosis Program (EDIPPP) and focuses on three major components: 1) education and training to multiple disciplines, 2) community outreach efforts, and 3) the operation of a specialized clinical team to quickly assess and treat young persons referred.

This session will provide an overview of the program and will focus on the community outreach and training efforts designed to generate referrals to the program by increasing audiences' understanding of the early signs of the illness process, as well as awareness of how they can help. Presenters will outline the various components of the multi-pronged outreach and training model and describe how the approach has evolved over time. The model offers strategies for: 1) developing effective community messages, 2) targeting the appropriate audiences, and 3) developing effective outreach materials. This presentation will provide practitioners with a framework for conducting outreach and training in their communities.