Eóin Killackey1, Kristi van der El1, Heather Stavely1, Patrick McGorry1; 1Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia
Background: In the 2010 Australian Federal Budget funding was committed to establish a first episode psychosis (FEP) service system based on the EPPIC model. This system was established by 2016. A fidelity scale, the EPPIC Model Integrity Tool (EMIT), was developed to measure the adherence to the model of the 6 clusters delivering the FEP services. Method: The EMIT is an 80-item assessment tool that maps onto the 16 core components of the EPPIC model. The tool is administered via on-site interviews with staff and young people as well as accessing documents, policies and data around client flow and service. Results: The first two rounds of fidelity assessments occurred in June/July and September/October 2017. Brief results around these assessments will be presented. These data give an initial snapshot of the adherence of the sites to the EPPIC model. The implementation of the tool cast light on a number of challenges that need to be addressed and these will also be discussed. The utility of the feedback from assessment as a means to identify areas in need of improvement will also be discussed. Conclusions: Model fidelity is an increasingly recognised way to ensure that programs based on evidence continue to deliver high quality outcomes, and avoid drift from the model. This presentation will demonstrate the outcomes from the first two rounds of application of the EMIT, associated challenges and ways in which fidelity testing can help services to improve their support of young people with early psychosis.
