title: Factors associated with length of psychiatric hospitalization.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Criteria for psychiatric hospitalization have undergone marked changes. Efforts to limit length-of-hospitalization risk greater morbidity at discharge and increased needs for appropriate aftercare. Accordingly, we evaluated factors associated with length of psychiatric hospitalization and aftercare-types.
  
  
  METHODS
  We reviewed medical records of 589 patients with major psychiatric disorders hospitalized in a university-affiliated, not-for-profit psychiatric hospital to identify characteristics associated with length of hospitalization, types of aftercare and insurance coverage, using standard bivariate and multivariate analytical methods.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Notable factors associated with longer hospitalization included: more highly supervised aftercare, diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective>affective disorders, longer illnesses, higher antipsychotic doses and more complex drug-treatments at discharge, lower GAF functional status, unemployment, being unmarried, as well as public vs. private insurance. Multivariate modeling sustained association of longer hospitalization with higher antipsychotic doses, more structured aftercare, public insurance, lower GAF scores, and diagnoses of chronic psychotic disorders. Structured aftercare was associated with younger age, fewer years ill, and private insurance, but varied little by diagnosis and was unrelated to ethnicity. Public insurance was associated notably with being unemployed, unmarried, less functional, having a chronic psychotic disorder for more years, and lack of structured aftercare.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Illness severity and functional impairment may modulate efforts to limit psychiatric hospitalization. Higher-level aftercare was associated with illness and disability factors as well as with private insurance; public insurance was associated with dysfunction, unemployment and chronic illness, as well as longer hospitalization.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorders Program and International Consortium for Bipolar & Psychotic Disorders Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA. Electronic address: gmasters@mclean.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Grace A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Masters
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorders Program and International Consortium for Bipolar & Psychotic Disorders Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Ross J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Baldessarini
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorders Program and International Consortium for Bipolar & Psychotic Disorders Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Dost
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Öngür
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorders Program and International Consortium for Bipolar & Psychotic Disorders Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Franca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Centorrino
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000359:Aftercare; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010351:Patient Discharge; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D055815:Young Adult