Paraprofessional role in a mental health continuing care program.
The authors report on a unique program in which paraprofessionals provide continuing care services to patients in a large public psychiatric hospital, both before and after discharge. Data from one hundred patients indicate that paraprofessional caseworkers effectively managed 85 percent of the patients' post-discharge problems without needing to directly involve their professional teammates.
D000359:Aftercare; D000488:Allied Health Personnel; D002140:California; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric; D006779:Hospitals, Public; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D010351:Patient Discharge; D011320:Primary Health Care; D012949:Social Work, Psychiatric / Q000458:organization & administration*