Factors associated with patient readmission to a specialised psychiatric hospital in the Eastern Cape
Background: Hospital readmissions increase healthcare system costs and can place additional strain on already sparse government funds and under-resourced hospitals. Few studies have investigated readmission of patients in mental health facilities in South Africa. Aim: The study aimed to identify th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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AOSIS
2022-12-01
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| Series: | South African Journal of Psychiatry |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://sajp.org.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/1878 |
| _version_ | 1797979291002077184 |
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| author | Razia Gaida Chinedum Okafor Lichelle Janse van Vuuren Adlai S. Davids |
| author_facet | Razia Gaida Chinedum Okafor Lichelle Janse van Vuuren Adlai S. Davids |
| author_sort | Razia Gaida |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Hospital readmissions increase healthcare system costs and can place additional strain on already sparse government funds and under-resourced hospitals. Few studies have investigated readmission of patients in mental health facilities in South Africa.
Aim: The study aimed to identify the factors associated with readmission of patients discharged from an acute psychiatric public hospital in South Africa.
Setting: The study was conducted at an acute psychiatric public hospital.
Method: A retrospective review of medical records was conducted for all patients admitted and readmitted between January 2018 and December 2019.
Results: From the pool of patient records analysed (n = 516), 93 (18.02%) were readmitted, of which the majority (75.27%) were male. The average age of patients readmitted was 27.24 ± 11.16 years, which was significantly younger than the total sample (p 0.05; CI 1.095–7.105). Findings indicated that patients who completed lower levels of education, were unemployed and were diagnosed with substance (mono- or polysubstance) use disorder (n = 93; 100%), schizophrenia (n = 33; 35.48%), bipolar disorder (n = 9; 9.68%) or intellectual disability (n = 9; 9.68%) were more frequently readmitted, with the average length of stay varying widely between patients.
Conclusion: Younger patients and those living with more complex psychiatric conditions, particularly those who are substance abusers, were readmitted more frequently, indicating that these patients may require special consideration for management.
Contribution: The study revealed that patients living with complex psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder were readmitted to hospital more frequently, indicating that management of these patients at the community level is challenging. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T05:37:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-262e427df42741fd97ec63956beb7e51 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1608-9685 2078-6786 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T05:37:47Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | AOSIS |
| record_format | Article |
| series | South African Journal of Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-262e427df42741fd97ec63956beb7e512022-12-22T10:28:30ZengAOSISSouth African Journal of Psychiatry1608-96852078-67862022-12-01280e1e710.4102/sajpsychiatry.v28i0.1878633Factors associated with patient readmission to a specialised psychiatric hospital in the Eastern CapeRazia Gaida0Chinedum Okafor1Lichelle Janse van Vuuren2Adlai S. Davids3Centre for Community Technologies, School of Engineering, Nelson Mandela University, GqeberhaEastern Cape Department of Health, GqeberhaEastern Cape Department of Health, GqeberhaHuman and Social Capabilities, Human Sciences Research Council, Gqeberha, South Africa; and Faculty of Health Sciences, Nelson Mandela University, GqeberhaBackground: Hospital readmissions increase healthcare system costs and can place additional strain on already sparse government funds and under-resourced hospitals. Few studies have investigated readmission of patients in mental health facilities in South Africa. Aim: The study aimed to identify the factors associated with readmission of patients discharged from an acute psychiatric public hospital in South Africa. Setting: The study was conducted at an acute psychiatric public hospital. Method: A retrospective review of medical records was conducted for all patients admitted and readmitted between January 2018 and December 2019. Results: From the pool of patient records analysed (n = 516), 93 (18.02%) were readmitted, of which the majority (75.27%) were male. The average age of patients readmitted was 27.24 ± 11.16 years, which was significantly younger than the total sample (p 0.05; CI 1.095–7.105). Findings indicated that patients who completed lower levels of education, were unemployed and were diagnosed with substance (mono- or polysubstance) use disorder (n = 93; 100%), schizophrenia (n = 33; 35.48%), bipolar disorder (n = 9; 9.68%) or intellectual disability (n = 9; 9.68%) were more frequently readmitted, with the average length of stay varying widely between patients. Conclusion: Younger patients and those living with more complex psychiatric conditions, particularly those who are substance abusers, were readmitted more frequently, indicating that these patients may require special consideration for management. Contribution: The study revealed that patients living with complex psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder were readmitted to hospital more frequently, indicating that management of these patients at the community level is challenging.https://sajp.org.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/1878psychiatryreadmissionhealtheastern capesouth africa. |
| spellingShingle | Razia Gaida Chinedum Okafor Lichelle Janse van Vuuren Adlai S. Davids Factors associated with patient readmission to a specialised psychiatric hospital in the Eastern Cape South African Journal of Psychiatry psychiatry readmission health eastern cape south africa. |
| title | Factors associated with patient readmission to a specialised psychiatric hospital in the Eastern Cape |
| title_full | Factors associated with patient readmission to a specialised psychiatric hospital in the Eastern Cape |
| title_fullStr | Factors associated with patient readmission to a specialised psychiatric hospital in the Eastern Cape |
| title_full_unstemmed | Factors associated with patient readmission to a specialised psychiatric hospital in the Eastern Cape |
| title_short | Factors associated with patient readmission to a specialised psychiatric hospital in the Eastern Cape |
| title_sort | factors associated with patient readmission to a specialised psychiatric hospital in the eastern cape |
| topic | psychiatry readmission health eastern cape south africa. |
| url | https://sajp.org.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/1878 |
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