Gr. Bond et al., ASSERTIVE OUTREACH FOR FREQUENT USERS OF PSYCHIATRIC-HOSPITALS - A METAANALYSIS, Journal of mental health administration, 22(1), 1995, pp. 4-16
A meta-analysis was conducted on nine studies of an assertive outreach
model for frequent users of psychiatric hospitals. Four studies used
experimental or quasi-experimental designs and five used pre-post desi
gns. Findings at one-year follow-up were examined for retention in com
munity mental health services, psychiatric inpatient days, quality of
life, and client level of functioning. Eight-four percent of assertive
outreach clients were still receiving mental health services after on
e year, compared to 54% of controls. In two thirds of the programs, th
e mean annual rate of inpatient days declined by 50% or more. The over
all experimental effect size for quality of life was negligible, altho
ugh changes over time for assertive outreach clients were more encoura
ging. Similarly, improvement in level of functioning was found for ass
ertive outreach clients. The study examining experimental differences
in level of functioning obtained a nonsignificant moderate effect.