title: Short-term versus long-term hospitalization in a private psychiatric facility: a follow-up study.
abstract: A follow-up study was made of 43 short-term and 42 long-term ex-patients 18 months after their discharge from a private psychiatric hospital. The short-term sample was different from the long-term sample on many preadmission and hospitalization variables, but it was much less different on the follow-up variables. Although most ex-patients in both samples were functioning well at follow-up, the long-term sample was doing somewhat better in all areas, according to both the former patients and their nearest relatives. Differences between the improvement of those in the short- and long-term sample increased when tested by diagnosis; long-term schizophrenic patients improved the most.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000359:Aftercare; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D003710:Demography; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006760:Hospitalization; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008404:Massachusetts; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation* / Q000628:therapy; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000534:rehabilitation; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors