Collaborative and Stepped Care in Mental Health (COMET)

The aims of COMET are the implementation and evaluation of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness as well as processes of a collaborative and stepped care model for depressive, anxiety, somatoform and/or alcohol abuse disorders within a multiprofessional network in comparison to routine care. In a cluster-randomized controlled effectiveness trial 570 patients will be recruited by 38 general practitioner practices and followed with a prospective survey at four time points. The primary outcome is the change in health-related quality of life from baseline to 6-months follow-up. Secondary outcomes include disorder-specific symptom burden, response, remission, functional quality of life, cost-effectiveness, evaluation of processes and other clinical and psychosocial variables.