The study across 20 GP practices showed a reduction in A&E department use and increased antidepressant use in people with LTCs and common mental health problems who had been referred to the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme, compared with those who were not referred to an IAPT service.
The team concluded that while further research over longer periods is needed, it seems that IAPT helps people with LTCs cope with their physical as well as comorbid mental health problems.
Launched nationally in 2008, the IAPT programme is aimed at expanding the use of evidence-based psychological therapies for common mental health problems such as depression and anxiety. A study published in 2011 found that the IAPT programme resulted in a significant reduction in sick notes and A&E attendances among people with such conditions.
This latest analysis, published in Behaviour Research and Therapy, looked at the use of healthcare by 1,118 people with a common mental health problem referred to IAPT, of whom 186 had LTCs, and that of 6,711 matched control patients with a common mental health problem who were ot referred to IAPT, of whom 1,115 had a LTC.
People with LTCs and mental health problems who were referred for IAPT had a fall in A&E service attendances in the six months after referral, compared with the six months before, whereas those who were not referred to IAPT had an increase in A&E attendance over the same period. This equated to an average of 0.21 fewer A&E visits with IAPT versus no IAPT, a statistically significant difference.
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