title: Young adult chronic patients: an analytical review of the literature.
abstract: This article analyzes the periodical and "fugitive" literature concerned with an emerging psychiatric service entity, young adult chronic patients. The increasing prominence of a young adult patient population results from the confluence of two primary forces: deinstitutionalization policies and demographic factors. The author discusses the clinical diversity and program requirements of these patients. Young adult chronic patients are best served when their uniqueness as a patient population is acknowledged and heeded and when special services for them are integrated into the total system of care, the author concludes.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003156:Community Mental Health Services; D003415:Crime; D003688:Deinstitutionalization; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012931:Social Environment