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The Schizophrenia Care in the Community for Adults quality standard (updated in March 2023, originally published in 2018) care for people aged 18 years and older with a primary diagnosis of schizophrenia (including related disorders such as schizoaffective disorder). It also provides guidance on early psychosis intervention for people who experience a first episode of schizophrenia. The quality standard focuses on care provided in the community, including primary care, hospital outpatient care, rehabilitation, and community supports and services.

The quality standard includes 15 quality statements addressing areas that have high potential for improving the quality of care in Ontario for people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia in the community.

For a quality standard that addresses care for people aged 18 years and older with a primary diagnosis of schizophrenia who are seen in an emergency department or admitted to an inpatient setting, please refer to Schizophrenia Care for Adults in Hospitals.

Below is a sample of tools and resources that may help you implement the quality statements in practice, organized according to purpose. Many of these tools and resources will help support multiple quality statements.

This list is not exhaustive. Are there other tools or resources you use? Do you have experience implementing these or other tools? If so, please share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Tools and Resources to Support Clinical Practice

• Dartmouth Assessment of Lifestyle Inventory: a validated screening tool to assist with screening for substance use
• Early Psychosis Intervention Ontario Network: provides professional and general resources about early psychosis intervention
• Global Appraisal of Individual Needs-Short Screener (GAIN-SS): an evidence-based survey that identifies needs for further assessment in the areas of mental health, substance abuse, and anger management for adolescents and adults
• Leeds Dependence Questionnaire: a validated screening tool to assist with screening for substance use
• Level of Care Utilization System (LOCUS) tool: a tool that can help identify the type and amount of service needed by adults with schizophrenia
• Metabolic Monitoring Tool: an interactive web tool from the Early Psychosis Intervention Ontario Network that aims to promote metabolic monitoring for people with mental condition
• Ontario Common Assessment of Need (OCAN): a standardized assessment tool used in the community mental health sector; it supports a recovery approach by enabling conversations that capture the client’s current situation, needs, strengths and service plan
• Ottawa Model for Smoking Cessation (OMSC): a program by the Ottawa Heart Institute that ensures all patients who smoke are identified and offered evidence-based counseling and smoking cessation medications
• Quorum Post on the Royal: a Quorum post spotlighting how The Royal Mental Health Centre improved the safe use of clozapine within a complex community mental health system
• Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool (SPDAT): a standardized tool that may be helpful for assessing a person’s needs and support requirements
• Smoking Treatment for Ontario Patients (STOP): a province-wide initiative delivering smoking cessation treatment (up to 26 weeks of NRT) and counselling support to people who want to reduce/quit their tobacco use.
• Toolkit for Intensive Case Management in Canada: a resource for those using a case management program for the Housing First model

Communication Resources for Providers

• Homeless Hub: a web-based research library and information centre representing an innovative step forward in the use of technology to enhance knowledge mobilization and networking to support communities to prevent and end homelessness
• Transitions Between Hospital and Home: Care for People of All Ages: a quality standard and resources addressing care for people transitioning (moving) between hospital and home after a hospital admission

Resources for Patients, Families, and Caregivers

• 211 Ontario: a free resource that connects people to social services, including employment support
• Canadian Mental Health Association: an organization that has various branches to provide education, services, and programs to support adults living with schizophrenia and their caregivers
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: informational webpage written in plain language from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
• ConnexOntario’s Mental Health Helpline: a resource providing information about mental health and addictions support services in the community. System navigation specialists are available to answer calls (1-866-531-26000), email, or web chat 24/7 from anywhere in Ontario.
• Families and Caregivers' Resources: a list of services provided by the Institute for Advancements in Mental Health, including a support line staffed by mental health counselors, family education groups, and caregiver education sessions/workshops
• Lighthouse Project: a project assists job-seekers living with mental health issues who are looking to obtain and maintain full-time work
• Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association: offers advice on how to apply for housing, or join a waiting list, and provides a list of coordinated access centres in communities across Ontario
• Ontario Peer Development Initiative: a resource that provides a list of consumer/survivor initiatives and peer-support organizations
• Schizophrenia Society of Canada’s Resources and Links: a resource list that provides in-depth information about schizophrenia, psychosis and the path to mental health recovery
• Schizophrenia: An Information Guide: a guide by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health intended for people with schizophrenia, their families and friends, and anyone else interested in better understanding the condition and what it is like to experience it
• Smokers Helpline: a resource by the Canadian Cancer Society that provides free and personalized tools to help people quit smoking successfully

Other Resources

• Quality Standards: Other Ontario Health quality standards relevant to caring for people aged 18 years and older with a primary diagnosis of schizophrenia include:
  • Schizophrenia Care in the Community for Adults
  • Anxiety Disorders
  • Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
  • Heart Failure
  • Major Depression
  • Opioid Use Disorder (Opioid Addiction)
  • Prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes
  • Problematic Alcohol Use And Alcohol Use Disorder