Our aim is to improve quality of life for people in early stages of serious mental illnesses (SMI). We focus on prevention of development of mental illnesses, reduction of rate and duration of inpatient treatment and prevention of unemployment of our target group. Development of community services will improve availability and effectivity of health and social services and profit not only clients themselves, but also their families, friends, and whole society reducing the costs of health and social care. The VIZDOM project is part of the psychiatric reform in the Czech Republic.

The main objective of the project is to improve quality of life of people in early stages of serious mental illnesses through implementation of specialised community services, inspired by international experience and good practice. Online support and three regional outreach teams focused on early detection and intervention for serious mental illnesses will be implemented within the project. The activities will be continually observed and evaluated. Based on the acquired experience, recommendations will be formulated for development of future services in psychiatric reform.

Analysis of Czech and international experience with early detection and early intervention of serious mental illnesses. The aim is to explore the current state of these services in the Czech Republic and identify examples of international good practice.

Training of three outreach teams for early detection and early intervention. The training will be based on the best international practice, will be discussed with Czech and international experts and will include an internship abroad, as its integral part.

Providing early detection and early intervention services, assured by multidisciplinary teams in three regions. Teams will be operating for three years and should deliver service to approx. 300 people in early stages of serious mental illnesses.

Evaluation of early detection and early intervention services. This will include cost-effectivity analysis and analysis of experience of involved stakeholders (service users, outreach teams, service providers). The results of evaluation will be used for formulating up-to-date guidelines and recommendations for further development of early detection and early intervention services in the Czech Republic.