[How successful is inpatient treatment in child and adolescent psychiatry? Preliminary results of the Marburg Evaluation Project].
OBJECTIVE
From 1999 to 2006, the inpatient treatment of a complete clinical sample in a child and adolescent psychiatric hospital was evaluated in a naturalistic effectiveness study in order to obtain detailed information about the outcome of the therapies.


METHODS
The project was realized as a longitudinal 1-sample design with measurements at three points in time (admission assessment; discharge assessment and 6-week follow-up; 1 1/2 year follow-up). An essential part of the assessments was conducted using standardized telephone interviews with the parents of the inpatients. The project included 1,321 inpatients; the 1 1/2 year follow-up was accomplished for 776 cases.


RESULTS
In all repeated measurements, there were highly significant effects. The pre-post effect sizes were higher than 1. The effects which were achieved during inpatient treatment were stable over time with a slight improvement after treatment. The outcome of different diagnostic groups showed significant differences at the 1 1/2 year follow-up.


CONCLUSIONS
The results should be used in the counselling of patients and their parents prior to starting therapy. It should be investigated whether the favourable results can be generalized for inpatient treatments in other hospitals of child psychiatry.
Remschmidt
Helmut
H
Klinik für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und -psychotherapie, Universitätsklinikum Giessen-Marburg, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Standort Marburg, Hans-Sachs-Strasse 6, DE-35033 Marburg.
Mattejat
Fritz
F
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000592:standards*; D010552:Personality Assessment; D011379:Prognosis; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*