title: Influences on social work time expenditure in a voluntary inpatient psychiatric unit.
abstract: This article describes a study of social work time expenditure on a voluntary inpatient psychiatric unit in an inner-city, tertiary-care, teaching hospital that serves many publicly funded patients. The study examined the influence of a number of presenting problems, individual psychosocial factors, and demographic factors. Controlling for patient length of stay, four factors were found to influence time expenditure: (1) greater number of assessed psychosocial problems, (2) Asian ethnocultural background, (3) the interactive effect of being a Medicaid recipient or having a pending Medicaid application and needing placement in a structured living situation, and (4) referrals to child protective services.
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle 98195.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Semke
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stowell
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Durgin
mesh_terms: D005006:Ethnicity; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008484:Medicaid; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D011567:Psychiatric Department, Hospital; D012947:Social Work; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States