First episode psychosis and treatment delay--causes and consequences.

Introduction: According to the clinical perspective, early diagnosis of the prodromal phase and early treatment provision in the first episode of psychosis (FEP) is able to prevent or reduce morbidity. The main aim of this study is to inventory and analyze the most important causes of treatment delay from the perspective of patients, families and healthcare providers. The secondary aim is to point out the most important consequences of treatment delay.

Subjects And Methods: The study was conducted on 28 patients hospitalized for FEP of a schizophrenia spectrum disorder in the Psychiatry Clinic of Timisoara and Day-care center 2009. The corresponding sample of relatives consisted of 25 relatives, and the sample of health care providers of 10 general practitioners and 11 psychiatrists. A semi-structured interview with open-ended questions was used.

Results: Data analysis generated the following themes: society's beliefs and attitude about mental illness; fear of stigma and labeling, insufficient information, lack of infrastructure from the perspective of the professionals, and modified threshold for treatment initiation.

Conclusions: Efforts at the level of Communities as well as efforts at the level of psychiatry specialists could help individuals and their families to overcome the illness situation and improve their quality of life.