ArticleBMC health services research2025
Evaluating the effectiveness of sociotherapy following psychiatric hospitalization: a target trial emulation protocol using German statutory health insurance data.
Article in BMC health services research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 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
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- "It has to be part of the clinic's lived culture"- perspectives of next of kin on meaningful participation in psychiatric care: a participatory thematic analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2026Article
- Access to outpatient psychotherapy and utilisation of services after structural reform in Germany: analysis of administrative claims data for people with depression.BMC health services research · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe German health care system maintains a strict division between inpatient and outpatient care, posing challenges for the continuity of care. Discharge management facilitates the transition from inpatient to outpatient settings. For psychiatric patients, sociotherapy is one transitional intervention that can be prescribed to inpatients at discharge and then provided in the outpatient setting. As a form of case management, it aims to motivate patients, coordinate care among providers, and ultimately reduce psychiatric hospital readmissions. However, the effectiveness of sociotherapy remains unclear due to a lack of randomized trials. This protocol describes an observational study investigating the causal impact of sociotherapy on psychiatric readmission rates.
methodsWe will use claims data from the largest statutory health insurance provider in Germany to evaluate the effect of sociotherapy as a discharge management measure on 30-day readmissions among patients who received psychiatric inpatient treatment. To reduce potential bias in this observational study we will use the target trial emulation framework. Quasi-randomization will be achieved through Propensity Score based methods, controlling for characteristics of the index event, patients' medical history, and relevant sociodemographic factors. Intention to treat and per protocol effects will be estimated with logistic regression models. Furthermore, we will analyze 365-day readmission rates, time to first psychiatric hospitalization within 365 days, total number of psychiatric hospitalizations within 365 days, and cumulative number of days in hospital due to psychiatric admissions within 365 days as secondary outcomes.
conclusionOur study will evaluate the effectiveness of sociotherapy as a transitional intervention following psychiatric hospitalization. By employing the Target Trial Emulation framework, we aim to generate robust, real-world evidence that can guide both clinical practice and policy-making, ultimately contributing to improved continuity of care for psychiatric patients.
trial registrationTrial registration: DRKS, ISRCTNDRKS00035987. Registration on 17 February 2025-Retrospectively registered, https://drks.de/register/de/trial/DRKS00035987.
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.