Psychiatric day hospital versus inpatient treatment

Abstract

A comparative study of patients in a day hospital versus an inpatient treatment setting showed results that in most respects confirmed findings of previous investigations. Thus, day patients were younger, more frequently having personality disorder and numerous social problems, whereas inpatients most frequently had affective illness. Further differences were found with regard to duration of treatment and outcome, physical health, level and improvement in social skills, and overall use of psychotropic medication. These findings provide further support for conclusions drawn from previous studies that psychiatric day patients are not generally representative of the inpatient population, and that these two alternative means of treatment have separate optimal fields of functioning for different patient populations. Furthermore, it is suggested that referral sources and admission procedures encourage a selection bias, in terms of both the patients' illness and socioeconomic circumstances. It is proposed that day-patient treatment plays an important role in a comprehensive psychiatric health system, although further research is required to measure fully the true impact that day-patient care has had on the more conventional aspects of modern psychiatric practice.