ArticleEarly intervention in psychiatry2020
Association between referral source and duration of untreated psychosis in pathways to care among first episode psychosis patients in Northern Malawi.
Article in Early intervention in psychiatry, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed.
- Real-world comprehensive care of people living with schizophrenia: recommendations across different settings and clinical stages.World psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) · 2026Article
- Availability and effectiveness of multicomponent interventions for early psychosis in 20 low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review.EClinicalMedicine · 2026Article
- Changes in quality of life among people with psychosis and their caregivers participating in a community-based rehabilitation intervention in Malawi: A mixed-methods analysis.PLOS mental health · 2026Article
- Early intervention in psychosis programs in Africa, Asia and Latin America; challenges and recommendations.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2025Review
- Pathways to care for psychosis in Malawi.BJPsych international · 2023Review
- The WPA Expert International Advisory Panel for Early Intervention in Psychosis in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: an update on recent relevant activities.World psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) · 2023Article
- Postnatal depression and its social-cultural influences among adolescent mothers: A cross sectional study.PLOS global public health · 2023Article
- Reassessing the Mental Health Treatment Gap: What Happens if We Include the Impact of Traditional Healing on Mental Illness?Community mental health journal · 2021Article
- Association between referral source and duration of untreated psychosis in pathways to care among first episode psychosis patients in Northern Malawi.Early intervention in psychiatry · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimsTo examine the association between referral source and duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) and explore determinants of referral source; when adjusting for pathways to care, positive and negative symptoms, diagnosis and socio-demographic characteristics.
methodsA total of 140 subjects with first episode psychosis (FEP) were enrolled from a pilot early intervention service for psychosis in Northern Malawi between June 2009 and September 2012. Logistic regression analyses were used to quantify the associations between variables of interest.
resultsAge ranged between 18 and 65 at assessment, with median, 33. Median DUP was 12.5 months. First contact did not independently determine DUP. Long DUP (>6 months) was associated with referral from community based volunteer (CBV) or traditional healer (TH), a unit increase in severity of negative symptoms and having schizophrenia, which was also associated with referral from CBV or TH. Additionally, being unemployed was associated with referral from CBV or TH. However, a unit increase in the number of times religious advice (RA) was sought, GP was contacted and severity of positive symptoms was associated with referral by GP.
conclusionsMental health awareness is justified for this population and collaboration with THs in identifying and treating patients with psychosis may help reduce treatment delays. Access to mental health services ought to improve, particularly for the unemployed group. Future studies should consider adjusting for referral source when ascertaining first contact source as a predictor of DUP.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.