PROBLEMS AND NEEDS FOR CARE OF PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM SEVERE MENTAL-ILLNESS

Recently, evaluative research has yielded a procedure, the Needs for C are Assessment Schedule (NFCAS), which articulates the problems and th e corresponding interventions required by psychiatric patients in a sy stematic and reproducible manner that is of interest to both administr ators and clinicians. Although the NFCAS decisions are ultimately subj ective and there is no absolute standard, the procedure limits variati on and offers a framework for comparison and further elaboration. A gr oup of 98 patients who were receiving treatment at the Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine Psychiatric Hospital in Montreal, Quebec and who were suff ering from severe mental disorders were assessed with the NFCAS proced ure. Subjects were selected from four treatment settings representing different levels of problems and needs: long-term in- and outpatients and short-term in- and outpatients. Results of the NFCAS were examined , along with those of standardized questionnaires. The NFCAS allowed a comprehensive understanding of the clinical realities for problem and need assessment. There was an average of 3.9 clinical problems and 4. 5 social problems per patient. Long-term patients and patients residin g in the hospital had more problems. A total of 76% of the problems as sessed were rated as receiving appropriate interventions, whereas 17% of the problems assessed were considered in need of an assessment or i n need of treatment. A greater need for intervention was found for soc ial problems than for clinical problems.