QUALITY-OF-LIFE OF LONG-STAY PATIENTS DISCHARGED FROM 2 PSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTIONS

Objective: The study compared the quality of life of long-stay psychia tric patients after they had been discharged to community residences f or one year with that of long-stay patients who remained hospitalized. Methods: Long-stay patients (that is, those with stays of at least on e year) who were discharged from two psychiatric hospitals in London w ere closely matched with patients likely to stay in the hospital for a nother year Baseline (in-hospital) and one-year follow-up assessments were conducted using six instruments to measure factors related to qua lity of life such as problems in social functioning and size of the so cial network. Results: A total of 494 discharged patients were compare d with 279 patients who remained in the hospital. The death rate did n ot differ between the two groups. Only six discharged patients became vagrants, and only two were imprisoned, one briefly discharged patient s were living under much less restrictive conditions, they preferred t heir life in the community, and the number of their friends increased, as did the number of acquaintances in the community such as neighbors . No adverse effects of discharge on mental state or social behavior w ere noted. Conclusions: The results indicate that community care is a beneficial alternative to longterm care in psychiatric hospitals for t he majority of patients, provided it is well planned and adequate reso urces are available.