Accompaniment by Volunteers for the Care of Patients with Severe Mental Disorder: Results of one Year of Follow-up

Introduction: Health systems have not been able to provide an adequate response to the growing prevalence and burden of disease of mental disorders. It has been proposed that this gap be reduced by strengthening and making use of community resources. This study explores the feasibility and one-year outcomes of a novel volunteer programme for patients with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Methods: In a non-controlled trial with a total of 30 patients, we instigated activities in groups of 5 people with severe mental disorders and individuals from the community. Symptoms, quality of life and social functioning before the intervention and after six and 12 months were assessed and compared using Student's t-test. Results: The volunteer intervention was feasible in the Colombian context. Social functioning after 6 months was improved, mainly due to an improvement in the domains of employment and friendship. However, the difference was no longer statistically significant after 12 months. Conclusions: In a country where there is a large gap in coverage and access to specialized mental health services, it is important to integrate effective and low-cost interventions that improve the mental health of the population through community resources. This intervention improved the social functioning of the patients, which indicates an effective and feasible intervention for implementation in our context. Nevertheless, the intervention may have to be continued beyond six months to maintain the reported improvements.