title: Initial treatment engagement in a rural community mental health center.
abstract: The charts of patients who received an initial assessment at a rural mental health center were reviewed to identify patient, system, and clinical characteristics that predicted return to the center for at least one treatment visit in the following three months. Among 112 patients, the overall rate of return was 46 percent. Patients who were seen for assessment within one week of their initial request for services were significantly more likely to return, as were those who had lower scores on the Global Assessment of Functioning scale. Patients referred for assessment by agencies of social control were the least likely to return for treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pennsylvania 15213, USA. greenocg@msx.upmc.edu
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Greeno
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Shear
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mike
mesh_terms: D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D003155:Community Mental Health Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010414:Pennsylvania; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index