NCT03499080

Medication Free Treatment: Characteristics, Justification and Outcome

Status unknown Last updated 29 August 2022

What this trial tests

trial testing Medication free treatment in Mental Illness in 183 participants. Status unknown.

Timeline

14 May 2018

Primary endpoint
1 April 2023

1 April 2023

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	University Hospital, Akershus
Status	Status unknown
Study type	OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment	183
Start date	14 May 2018
Primary completion	1 April 2023
Estimated completion	1 April 2023
Sites	2 locations across Norway

Drugs / interventions tested

• Medication free treatment
• Treatment as usual Myrvegen
• Treatment as usual Åråsen

Conditions studied

• Mental Illness — all drugs for Mental Illness →

Sponsor

University Hospital, Akershus

Who can join

Adults 18 to 100, any sex, with Mental Illness. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

In 2015 the Norwegian government, after initiative from user organizations, decided to implement medication free inpatient treatment units. The goal is to secure real options to medication for psychiatric illness, and to gather experiences with medication free options. Freedom of choice is a main concern.

The projects main aim is to study the outcome of medication free treatments of mental illness compared to treatment as usual, as well as characteristics of the treatment and the treatment population and why patients choose this treatment. Hereunder we aim to document who asks for these kinds of services and why, what kind of treatment they get, how they experience it, and how they respond to this kind of treatment. An important part will be to document whether the goal of increased freedom of choice between real treatment options is fulfilled.

Research questions

1. Does medication free treatment differ from treatment as usual? Are there any unique characteristics of the patient group who asks for this kind of treatment? What kind of treatment do they receive during their stay? How do they experience this treatment in comparison to treatment as usual? How is this in relation to the goals about increased freedom of choice? Does use of medication change during and/or after medication free treatment?
2. Why do patients choose medication free treatment? What are their reasons? What experiences lead to this wish?
3. What is the outcome of medication free treatment compared to treatment as usual?

Publications & conference data

4 peer-reviewed publications reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

1. Why Service Users Choose Medication-Free Psychiatric Treatment: A Mixed-Method Study of User Accounts.
   Standal K, Solbakken OA, Rugkåsa J, Martinsen AR, et al · · 2021 · cited 12× · PMID 34326632 · DOI 10.2147/ppa.s308151
2. Medication-Free Treatment in Mental Health Care How Does It Differ from Traditional Treatment?
   Standal K, Solbakken OA, Rugkåsa J, Halvorsen MS, et al · · 2024 · cited 4× · PMID 38327730 · DOI 10.2147/ppa.s435610
3. Are People Worse Off in a Mental Health Treatment Paradigm Where Medication Is Deemphasised? A Naturalistic Noninferiority Trial of an Initiative to Improve Patient Choice.
   Standal K, Solbakken OA, Šaltytė Benth J, Abbass A, et al · · 2025 · PMID 41277153 · DOI 10.1177/00207640251390930
4. Medication-free treatment in mental health care. How does it differ from traditional treatment?
   Standal K, Solbakken OA, Rugkåsa J, Halvorsen MS, et al · · 2023 · DOI 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3038199/v2