An observational, “real life” trial of the introduction of assertive community treatment in a geographically defined area using clinical rather than service use outcome criteria

Introduction Assertive outreach methods of service delivery hold promise, but have been evaluated mostly in the context of short-lived experiments of limited sustainability and a focus on service use outcomes. The aim of the current investigation was to conduct an observational, “real life”, pre-post comparison of the introduction of assertive outreach in a geographically defined area using clinical rather than service use outcome criteria.