title: Cross-cultural study of initial visits to psychiatric outpatient clinics.
abstract: This descriptive and comparative study explored issues involving initial visits to psychiatric outpatient clinics. Seventy patients in an Irish clinic and 51 patients in a United States clinic were interviewed and 100 medical records in each clinic were reviewed to examine data on five variables: presenting complaints, critical incidents, referral processes, patient expectations, and reactions to treatment plans. Commonalities and differences between clinics were cited.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007494:Ireland; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010349:Patient Compliance; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D014481:United States