Effects of long-term psychiatric hospitalization for young, treatment-refractory patients.
Although short-term hospitalization has been shown to be effective in helping severely impaired psychiatric patients improve, such improvement is for some only temporary. Young, treatment-refractory patients who have failed to respond to previous brief hospitalization and outpatient treatments may benefit more from longer-term hospitalization. The authors report on a three-and-a-half-year follow-up study of 55 young adult and adolescent treatment-refractory inpatients after long-term hospitalization. Significant improvements in recidivism, quality of life, and overall functioning were found between discharge and the follow-up assessment. The authors conclude that potential benefits of long-term hospitalization for this subgroup warrant further empirical study.
Edell
W S
WS
Yale Psychiatric Institute, New Haven, CT 06520.
Hoffman
R E
RE
DiPietro
S A
SA
Harcherik
D F
DF
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003237:Connecticut; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010359:Patient Readmission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011788:Quality of Life; D012380:Role