M129. Effectiveness of Treatment for Psychosis and Physical Illness in Urban and Rural Populations: A Pilot Study for Integrated Care

Background: This study seeks to address differences between rural and urban populations of individuals receiving treatment for psychosis comorbid with nonpsychiatric physical illness. Methods: Integrated Illness Management and Recovery (I-IMR) was implemented over 6 months in a pilot study ( N = 154) with Assertive Community Treatment teams in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area and greater Minnesota. I-IMR integrates illness self-management strategies for medical conditions and psychiatric conditions. Psychiatric symptoms (Colorado Symptom Index), illness management (Illness Management and Recovery Scale, practitioner and client versions), and self-efficacy (Chronic Disease Self Efficacy Scale) outcomes were collected at a pre-treatment baseline and post-intervention. Results: Repeated measures mixed-design analysis of variance is used to compare client outcomes according to urban or rural settings across time. Psychiatric symptoms, illness management, and self-efficacy outcomes will be analyzed along with demographic information, treatment site, and dosage data. Assessment of item-level outcome data is performed to confirm equivalent psychometric properties of instruments in both the rural and urban populations. This comparison of outcome instruments allows for examination of potential measurement variance between urban or rural populations, which impact how treatment outcomes are assessed in either group. Conclusion: This study highlights differences in the effectiveness of Integrated Illness Management and Recovery between urban and rural environments. Psychometric assessment provides a context to confirm equivalent measurement properties of critical treatment outcomes across rural and urban environments.