IMPULSE (Implementation of an effective and cost-effective intervention for patients with psychotic disorders in low and middle-income countries in South Eastern Europe) is a 3-year project funded by the European Commission as part of the Horizon 2020 initiative. The objective of the study is to facilitate the development of DIALOG+ , a technology-based psychosocial intervention, in five countries of South Eastern Europe: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia. Researchers from the IMPULSE project aim, with the adoption of DIALOG+, to improve the conditions of people suffering with psychosis and to overcome financial barriers encountered in the treatment of psychosis in the above mentioned countries.
This project also includes active involvement of experts by experience (psychiatric care users) and focuses on promoting the patient and caregivers’ voice and embedding it across the project, from conducting research to policy making, has the potential to ensure sustainability of the project, increase awareness of the importance of psychosocial treatment for people with psychotic disorders, and reduce stigmatisation of people with psychotic disorders and their families. IMPULSE aims to actively involve patients and caregiver groups in the project, to support the work of the existing patient organizations and to facilitate the establishment of new organizations.