title: Effectiveness of an assertive outreach community treatment program.
abstract: The purpose of this paper is to describe an Adult Community Treatment (ACT) program in Dandenong, Victoria, and its effect upon admission rates and time in hospital for 50 of the service's most disturbed patients. The implementation of the program was associated with a reduction in the annual re-admission rate from 38% (1989-90) to 21% (1990-91); the total length of hospital stay was also significantly reduced. The results support the value of community support programs in the management of the seriously mentally ill.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Dandenong Hospital, Victoria.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dharwadkar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia; D003156:Community Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006760:Hospitalization; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D010343:Patient Admission; D016896:Treatment Outcome