Factors that hindered care seeking among people with a first diagnosis of psychosis.

Aim: Evidence-based treatment can improve psychosis outcomes, but service providers need to understand and address the reasons people experiencing first episode psychosis avoid or delay care seeking. The goal of this study was to identify reasons care seeking might be postponed, from the points of view of patients, caregivers and health care professionals in a large health care delivery system, in the United States, without an early psychosis intervention program.

Methods: About 22 patients who had received an initial psychosis diagnosis and 10 of their caregivers were interviewed about their experiences and pathways to care.