Crisis resolution and home treatment: structure, process, and outcome - a literature review

The objective of this paper is to explore and systematize the existing knowledge regarding the structure, process, and outcome of crisis resolution and home treatment (CRHT) as a form of community mental health service. Data sources are published peer-reviewed articles. Our study selection is systematic search for peer-reviewed articles written in English and Norwegian published between January 2000 and December 2008. Data are extracted from review of published articles on the subject of CRHT team and home treatment. We identified 35 articles including 6 reviews, consisting of quantitative and qualitative studies. The knowledge regarding CRHT focuses on three areas: (1) structure in terms of the standards, organization, and development; (2) process in terms of clinical interventions; and (3) outcome in relation to cost-effectiveness and admission rates. While the structural issues were presented and discussed a great deal, there is a paucity of articles on clinical intervention methods in home treatment as well as a limited attention on outcomes at the micro-level. There is a need for further studies regarding the clinical work of CRHT teams from the home treatment perspective.