Effective care engagement is routinely challenged by brief, infrequent clinical contacts, heavy cognitive demands, illness complexity, medication non-adherence, anxiety, non-adherence to care-related plans, and system constraints.
Current provider constraints limit many aspects of the clinical interaction, including risk identification and care planning, which can leave patients feeling disempowered and disengaged from the treatment process. Provider-patient interactions are extremely important to clinical outcomes and, as such, are a domain where small improvements can lead to large benefits.

A4i Addresses:

• Social Isolation – negative feelings can result in withdrawal from activities and avoidance of the outside world
• Low Self-Management – limited community-based supports and dissatisfaction with the standard care is common
• Non-Adherence – medication and engagement adherence is only about 50% among people with schizophrenia

“Our limitations in better supporting people with illness self-management and challenged treatment engagement, with medications and otherwise, frequently lead to a rapid deterioration in mental health and major setbacks including hospitalizations. Our current efforts, from services to systems, are not enough.” – Dr. Sean Kidd, Associate Professor University of Toronto Department of Psychiatry, Clinical Associate Yale Department of Psychiatry. Chief Psychology Division, CAMH.

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