Assessing the evidence on case management

Abstract

Background: Evidence on the impact of case management is contradictory. Aims: To discuss two different systematic reviews (one conducted by the authors and one conducted through the Cochrane collaboration) that came to contradictory conclusions about the impact of case management in mental health services. Method: We summarised the findings of the two reviews with respect to case management effectiveness, examined key methodological differences between the two approaches and discuss the impact of these on the validity of the results. Results: The differences in conclusions between the two reviews result from the differences in inclusion criteria, namely non-randomised trials, data from unpub..