title: Is the level of institutionalisation found in psychiatric housing services associated with the severity of illness and the functional impairment of the patients? A patient record analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In this cross-sectional study, we investigated whether clinical, social, financial, and care variables were associated with different accommodation settings for individuals suffering from severe and persistent mental disorders.
  
  
  METHODS
  Electronic record data of 250 patients who fulfilled the criteria for persistent and severe mental illness were used. Multiple linear regression models were applied to analyse associations between the types and the costs of housing services and the patients' severity of illness, their functional impairment, and their socio-demographic characteristics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We identified 50 patients living at home without need for additional housing support who were receiving outpatient treatment, 41 patients living in the community with outpatient housing support, 23 patients living with foster families for adults, 45 patients living in group homes with 12-h staff cover, 10 patients living in group homes with 24-h staff, and 81 patients living in psychiatric nursing homes. While this housing differed largely in the level of institutionalisation and also in the costs of accommodation, these differences were not related to a patient's severity of disease or in their functional impairment. In particular, patients living in nursing homes had a slightly higher level of functioning compared to those living in the community without welfare housing services. Only where patients were subject to guardianship was there a significant association with an increased level of institutionalisation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study suggests that the level of institutionalisation and the associated costs of welfare housing services do not accurately reflect the severity of illness or the level of functional impairment of the patients there are designed to support. The limitations of the study design and the data do not allow for conclusions about causal relationships or generalisation of the findings to other regions. Therefore, further prospective studies are needed to assess the adequacy of the setting assignment of patients with persistent severe mental illness into different types of housing settings with appropriate (also welfare) services.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy I, University of Ulm at Zentrum für Psychiatrie Südwürttemberg, Ravensburg, Germany. juan.valdes-stauber@zfp-zentrum.de.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Valdes-Stauber
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy II, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy II of the University of Ulm at Bezirkskrankenhaus Günzburg, Günzburg, Germany. reinhold.kilian@bkh-guenzburg.de.
authors.forename: Reinhold
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kilian
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003156:Community Mental Health Services / Q000191:economics*; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000191:economics; D006798:Housing / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D007326:Institutionalization / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000191:economics / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012944:Social Support