Abstract
BACKGROUND: The organization of aftercare is important for a successful outcome; still the optimal organization has not been fully explored. An intensive transitional post-discharge aftercare (TA) programme, for a mixed group of non-psychotic patients, was recently developed. Patients with non-psychotic diagnoses are often discharged with low well-being while still symptomatic, placing high demands on aftercare.
AIMS: To evaluate retrospectively the short and long-term mental healthcare service use during and after the TA programme compared with the service use of a retrospective comparison group (RC), receiving less intensive outpatient aftercare.
METHODS: Number of re-admissions, bed days and emergency visits after 10 weeks, 6 months and 1 year was retrospectively collected from electronic patient registers. Descriptive statistics, independent samples T-tests and repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to compare the groups.
RESULTS: The majority of patients in both groups suffered from affective disorders, followed by personality disorders and a small number of other psychiatric diagnoses. Service use in the TA group was lower than in the RC group with fewer bed days after 10 weeks (P = 0.01) and after 6 months (P = 0.003), and fewer re-admissions after 6-12 months (P = 0.04). Emergency contacts did not differ significantly between the two groups at any point.
CONCLUSIONS: The present study indicates beneficial effects of intensive TA, for a mixed group of non-psychotic patients. The lower service use in the TA programme group is in line with day treatment programme research for patients with affective disorders.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Journal | Nordic Journal of Psychiatry |
Volume | 68 |
Issue number | 7 |
Pages (from-to) | 500-506 |
Number of pages | 7 |
ISSN | 0803-9488 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2014 |
Keywords
- Adult
- Aftercare
- Denmark
- Female
- Humans
- Length of Stay
- Male
- Mental Disorders
- Mental Health Services
- Middle Aged
- Mood Disorders
- Patient Discharge
- Patient Readmission
- Personality Disorders
- Program Evaluation
- Retrospective Studies