Joyce Protas Mlay

1 Introduction First-episode psychosis (FEP) is the first time a person shows signs of losing contact with reality, usually occurring in adolescence/young adulthood. As it affects the way a person thinks and behaves, it can severely impair everyday functioning when left untreated (Breitborde et al. 2009; Menezes et al. 2006; Petersen et al. 2012). Engaging in care during this critical period is essential for achieving favourable long-term outcomes (Becker et al. 2016).

Loading metrics Open Access Peer-reviewed Research Article Citation: Mlay JP, Naidu T, Ramlall S, Mhlungu SS, Zondi M, Lessells R, et al. (2024) Risk factors and strategies for relapse prevention among individuals living with serious mental illness in South Africa: Qualitative inquiry from patients’ and caregivers’ perspectives. PLoS ONE 19(8): e0309238.

Methods The proposed PRS-FEP pilot randomised trial will be driven by the experienced interprofessional team of researchers from nursing, psychiatry, social work, clinical psychology, clinical trials and biostatistics/health economics. The PRS-FEP will be nested within PSYchosis MAPping in KZN (PSYMAP-ZN), a research platform that aims to generate evidence that will improve the understanding of psychosis within an SSA setting.