Who Benefits from Acute Psychiatric Home Treatment? A Systematic Review.

Home treatment (HT) treats patients in an acute crisis through an interdisciplinary team with daily appointments for a short treatment period. The effectiveness of HT has already been confirmed. However, only few studies addressed specific patient characteristics associated outcome of treatment. This study aimed to identify patient characteristics associated with successful outcomes of HT. A systematic literature search was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines. A total of 13 studies were included in the systematic review. Being employed, having a regular income, having an anxiety disorder and family involvement were associated with a successful treatment outcome in HT. High symptom severity and former hospital admissions were associated with unsuccessful treatment outcome in HT in the selected studies. HT seems to be especially beneficial for patients with paid employment or regular income, patients with anxiety disorders, and patients with familial or other social support.

Study protocol of an observational study in acute psychiatric home treatment: How does home treatment work? Identification of common factors and predictors of treatment success.

BACKGROUND: Systematic reviews indicated that home treatment is an effective and cost-saving alternative to conventional acute psychiatric treatment options. Treatment success has often been defined as a reduction of hospital admissions. In the current study, symptoms and well-being are assessed regularly during treatment as an indicator for treatment success. Patients' characteristics such as diagnosis, age, substance use, and motivation for treatment were discussed as predictors for treatment success. A second focal point of the study lies in the examination of the therapeutic relationship in terms of the outcome, which has not yet been systematically investigated in home treatment. METHODS: This is an observational study with a prospective naturalistic design. Measurements are carried out at baseline, during and at the end of treatment as well as at the 3­month follow-up. Patients' characteristics as potential predictors for treatment success will be assessed at baseline. In addition, the perceived relationship between the patients and the team will be measured daily and weekly throughout the treatment. Treatment success is by the changes in symptoms and general well-being assessed weekly. We aim to include 82 participants assigned to home treatment. Variance analyses with repeated measurements will be conducted to evaluate treatment success. CONCLUSION: By examining potential patient- and relationship-related predictors of treatment success, insights into relevant determining variables of treatment success in this setting are expected. The results might help to better identify who benefits the most from home treatment.

Online Survey of Medical and Psychological Professionals on Structured Instruments for the Assessment of Work Ability in Psychiatric Patients.

Objective: To evaluate perceived needs and difficulties related to instruments for assessing work ability in individuals with mental disorders. Method: We conducted an online survey of 104 German-speaking medico-legal experts (forensic psychiatric and psychology experts, insurance physicians) and therapists. Results: The large majority of respondents reported they would welcome a standardized, structured instrument for the assessment of work ability. High predictiveness, inter-rater agreement, comprehensibility for laymen, and symptom validity were desired in roughly equal measure as the main characteristic of such an instrument. More women than men, and more medico-legal experts than therapists, considered symptom validation as always necessary. Pain, personality, and affective disorders were perceived to be the most difficult disorders in the context of work ability assessments. Conclusion: Our survey documents professionals' wish for a structured assessment of work ability in both medico-legal and therapeutic settings.

Status quo of German-speaking medical students' attitudes toward and knowledge about central aspects of forensic psychiatry across four European countries.

While forensic psychiatry is of increasing importance in mental health care, limited available evidence shows that attitudes toward the discipline are contradictory and that knowledge about it seems to be limited in medical students. We aimed to shed light on this subject by analyzing medical students' central attitudes toward and their association with knowledge about forensic psychiatry as well as with socio-demographic and education-specific predictor variables. We recruited N = 1345 medical students from 45 universities with a German language curriculum across four European countries (Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Hungary) by using an innovative approach, namely snowball sampling via Facebook. Students completed an online questionnaire, and data were analyzed descriptively and multivariably by linear mixed effects models and multinomial regression. The results showed overall neutral to positive attitudes toward forensic psychiatry, with indifferent attitudes toward the treatment of sex offenders, and forensic psychiatrists' expertise in the media. Whereas medical students knew about the term 'forensic psychiatry', they showed a lack of specific medico-legal knowledge. Multivariable models on predictor variables revealed statistically significant findings with, however, small estimates and variance explanation. Therefore, further research is required along with the development of a refined assessment instrument for medical students to explore both attitudes and knowledge in forensic psychiatry.

Predicting Medical Students' Current Attitudes Toward Psychiatry, Interest in Psychiatry, and Estimated Likelihood of Working in Psychiatry: A Cross-Sectional Study in Four European Countries.

Psychiatry as a medical discipline is becoming increasingly important due to the high and increasing worldwide burden associated with mental disorders. Surprisingly, however, there is a lack of young academics choosing psychiatry as a career. Previous evidence on medical students' perspectives is abundant but has methodological shortcomings. Therefore, by attempting to avoid previous shortcomings, we aimed to contribute to a better understanding of the predictors of the following three outcome variables: current medical students' attitudes toward psychiatry, interest in psychiatry, and estimated likelihood of working in psychiatry. The sample consisted of N = 1,356 medical students at 45 medical schools in Germany and Austria as well as regions of Switzerland and Hungary with a German language curriculum. We used snowball sampling via Facebook with a link to an online questionnaire as recruitment procedure. Snowball sampling is based on referrals made among people. This questionnaire included a German version of the Attitudes Toward Psychiatry Scale (ATP-30-G) and further variables related to outcomes and potential predictors in terms of sociodemography (e.g., gender) or medical training (e.g., curriculum-related experience with psychiatry). Data were analyzed by linear mixed models and further regression models. On average, students had a positive attitude to and high general interest in, but low professional preference for, psychiatry. A neutral attitude to psychiatry was partly related to the discipline itself, psychiatrists, or psychiatric patients. Female gender and previous experience with psychiatry, particularly curriculum-related and personal experience, were important predictors of all outcomes. Students in the first years of medical training were more interested in pursuing psychiatry as a career. Furthermore, the country of the medical school was related to the outcomes. However, statistical models explained only a small proportion of variance. The findings indicate that particularly curriculum-related experience is important for determining attitudes toward psychiatry, interest in the subject and self-predicted professional career choice. We therefore encourage the provision of opportunities for clinical experience by psychiatrists. However, further predictor variables need to be considered in future studies.

Duration of Absence from Work Is Related to Psychopathology, Personality, and Sociodemographic Variables in a Longitudinal Cohort.

OBJECTIVE: To examine, in a non-clinical sample, the association of psychopathology, personality, sociodemographic information, and psychosocial indicators of non-occupational functioning with the duration of absence from work in the past 12 months. METHOD: A longitudinal community cohort of 591 adults from Switzerland was analyzed using multilevel ordered logistic regression, with several alternative models as robustness checks. Psychopathology was assessed using the total score (Global Severity Index) of the Symptom Check List-90 Revised. RESULTS: The highest psychopathology levels were associated with absences of 3 or more week duration, largely independently of age. Extraversion and being divorced, widowed or separated also corresponded with longer absences from work in some analyses. No effect of sex was found. Most effects tested were not statistically significant and estimates showed large uncertainty. CONCLUSION: Although tentative, our results suggest a possible influence of psychopathology on work participation. It may thus be desirable in insurance-medical appraisals of work ability to include instruments for measuring psychopathology.

[Who benefits from the night clinic? - Value of a part-time treatment facility]. / Wer braucht die Nachtklinik? ­ Stellenwert eines teilstationären Angebotes.

BACKGROUND: The night clinic which is part of the psychiatric department of the University of Zurich is a part-time treatment option with psychiatric treatment and support in the evening. This study aimed to characterize the patients and detect different functions of the treatment setting. METHODS: Data of 253 patients covering a six-year period from 2008 up to 2013 were retrospectively assessed using descriptive methods. Subgroups according to the situation before admission and after discharge were compared. RESULTS: Patients admitted from home differed considerably from those who were transferred from a psychiatric ward concerning sociodemographic and clinical factors. They were more frequently single, unemployed, received disability funds and suffered from a psychotic disorder. They were also more likely to be discharged in a supported housing condition. CONCLUSIONS: The night clinic serves as an alternative to full inpatient treatment for individuals who have work as well as a rehabilitative option for homeless patients with severe mental illness. It contributes to a reduction of avoidance of inpatients stays for those groups of patients.

Predictors of repeat visits to hospital psychiatric emergency departments in Malaga (Spain) and in Lisbon (Portugal).

OBJECTIVE: This study describes the profile of people with mental disorders attending emergency departments (EDs) in two countries and to identify specific mental disorders associated with repeat emergency visits. METHODS: Retrospective analyses of 1 year of EDs data from two hospitals with psychiatric departments, one in Amadora/Sintra (Lisbon, Portugal, 2008) and the other in Malaga (Spain, 2009), were carried out. To determine which mental disorders were associated with repeat visits in each setting, negative binomial models were calculated. RESULTS: There were 5141 visits for a mental disorder made by 3667 patients. Patients with affective disorder were the most frequent (32.2%). Among all mental health patients, 19.9% had at least one repeat visit during the year. For the two EDs setting combined, patients with personality disorders (incidence rate ratio (IRR)=3.79, 95% CI: 2.39 to 6.02) and psychotic disorders (IRR=1.46, 95% CI: 1.13 to 1.89) were more likely to have repeat visits compared with patients with affective disorders, whereas mental disorders due to psychoactive substance use (IRR=0.52, 95% CI: 0.37 to 0.73) was associated with lower likelihood of repeat visits. Nearly all significant differences were attributable to the Malaga sample, where patients with personality disorders were four times more likely to have repeat EDs visits compared with patients with affective disorders. However, at both sites, patients with mental disorders due to psychoactive substance use were less likely to have repeat visits. CONCLUSIONS: Certain mental disorders may be predictive of more frequent ED visits. The different results for each country suggest that further studies might focus not only on the characteristics of patients, but also on local healthcare organisation.

[Acute day hospital as a cost-effective alternative to inpatient therapy]. / Akut-Tagesklinik als kosteneffiziente Alternative zu stationärer Therapie.

BACKGROUND: This is a study of the cost-benefit advantage of the model project acute day hospital (ATK) compared to inpatient care. METHODS: The study was performed retrospectively and examined the direct costs and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) in a matched sample. RESULTS: The day clinic treatment compared to inpatient therapy showed at a cost benefit of 2.68: 1 at a slightly delayed increase in GAF-value. CONCLUSION: The treatment in ATK is more than twice as cheap compared to inpatient treatment, but at a slightly slower improvement in symptoms.

Model-based testing for space-time interaction using point processes: An application to psychiatric hospital admissions in an urban area.

Spatio-temporal interaction is inherent to cases of infectious diseases and occurrences of earthquakes, whereas the spread of other events, such as cancer or crime, is less evident. Statistical significance tests of space-time clustering usually assess the correlation between the spatial and temporal (transformed) distances of the events. Although appealing through simplicity, these classical tests do not adjust for the underlying population nor can they account for a distance decay of interaction. We propose to use the framework of an endemic-epidemic point process model to jointly estimate a background event rate explained by seasonal and areal characteristics, as well as a superposed epidemic component representing the hypothesis of interest. We illustrate this new model-based test for space-time interaction by analysing psychiatric inpatient admissions in Zurich, Switzerland (2007-2012). Several socio-economic factors were found to be associated with the admission rate, but there was no evidence of general clustering of the cases.

Hospital utilization outcome of an assertive outreach model for schizophrenic patients - results of a quasi-experimental study.

We assessed whether an Assertive Outreach (AO) program for patients with schizophrenia implemented in German routine care in rural areas reduces psychiatric hospital admissions and/or psychiatric hospital days. We conducted a quasi-experimental controlled study with 5 assessments in 12 months. Data collection included health care utilization (Client Sociodemographic and Service Receipt Inventory), and clinical parameters. The assessments took place in the practices of the psychiatrists. Admission incidence rates were calculated. For bivariate group comparison, we used U-tests, T-tests and Chi(2)-Tests, multivariate analysis was conducted using zero-inflated regression models. For hospital outcomes, data of 295 patients was analysed. No statistically significant differences between AO and TAU patients in terms of hospital admissions or hospital days were found. Overall hospital utilization was low (8%). Advantages of AO over TAU referring to hospital utilization were not found. However, a spill-over effect might have reduced hospital utilization in both groups. Further research should differentiate patient subgroups. These two appear to be key factors to explain effects or absence of effects and to draw conclusions for the mental health care delivery.

Age- and gender-specific mortality risk profiles for depressive outpatients with major chronic medical diseases.

BACKGROUND: As leading causes of death, chronic medical diseases, particularly common cardiovascular diseases, are associated with depression. The combination of depression and chronic medical disease in turn is linked with poorer health and premature death. Despite numerous studies on mortality in people with depression and chronic medical disease, the effects of age and gender were not consistently considered. To appropriately estimate mortality in the clinical setting, we aimed to analyse age- and gender-specific mortality profiles in outpatients with depression and chronic medical disease by considering depression severity. METHODS: We examined data from N=327,018 outpatients with depression aged 18 years and older (mean=60 years), which we obtained from German electronic health-insurance claims data covering the years 2007-2010. We considered major chronic medical disease groups: cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, diseases of the respiratory system and cancer. To analyse both adjusted mortality risk and rates over one year in a comprehensive manner, we calculated General Estimation Equation (GEE) Poisson models for binary data. RESULTS: The mortality risk increased with age and was higher for males. Especially patients below 60 years of age with cancer or diabetes had an increased mortality risk, but not patients with cardiovascular disease. Mortality was comparably increased in patients with severe depression, diabetes or respiratory disease. LIMITATIONS: We did not have data from a control group without depression. CONCLUSIONS: Notably, not cardiovascular diseases but cancer and, to a lesser extent, diabetes, both in younger patients, respiratory diseases and severity of depression require particular attention in outpatient care to reduce mortality.

Supported Employment for the Reintegration of Disability Pensioners with Mental Illnesses: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Work is beneficial for the recovery from mental illness. Although the approach of individual placement and support (IPS) has been shown to be effective in Europe, it has not yet been widely implemented in European health care systems. The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to assess the effectiveness of IPS for disability pensioners with mental illnesses new on disability benefits in Switzerland. In the study at hand, 250 participants were randomly assigned to either the control or the intervention group. The participants in the intervention group received job coaching according to IPS during 2 years. The control group received no structured support. Both groups were interviewed at baseline and followed up every 6 months (baseline, 6, 12, 16, 18, 24 months) for 2 years. Primary outcome was to obtain a job in the competitive employment. IPS was more effective for the reintegration into the competitive employment market for disability pensioners than the control condition. Thirty-two percent of the participants of the intervention group and 12% of the control group obtained new jobs in the competitive employment. IPS is also effective for the reintegration into competitive employment of people with mental illness receiving disability pensions.

Modelling suicide and unemployment: a longitudinal analysis covering 63 countries, 2000-11.

BACKGROUND: As with previous economic downturns, there has been debate about an association between the 2008 economic crisis, rising unemployment, and suicide. Unemployment directly affects individuals' health and, unsurprisingly, studies have proposed an association between unemployment and suicide. However, a statistical model examining the relationship between unemployment and suicide by considering specific time trends among age-sex-country subgroups over wider world regions is still lacking. We aimed to enhance knowledge of the specific effect of unemployment on suicide by analysing global public data classified according to world regions. METHODS: We retrospectively analysed public data for suicide, population, and economy from the WHO mortality database and the International Monetary Fund's world economic outlook database from 2000 to 2011. We selected 63 countries based on sample size and completeness of the respective data and extracted the information about four age groups and sex. To check stability of findings, we conducted an overall random coefficient model including all study countries and four additional models, each covering a different world region. FINDINGS: Despite differences in the four world regions, the overall model, adjusted for the unemployment rate, showed that the annual relative risk of suicide decreased by 1·1% (95% CI 0·8-1·4) per year between 2000 and 2011. The best and most stable final model indicated that a higher suicide rate preceded a rise in unemployment (lagged by 6 months) and that the effect was non-linear with higher effects for lower baseline unemployment rates. In all world regions, the relative risk of suicide associated with unemployment was elevated by about 20-30% during the study period. Overall, 41,148 (95% CI 39,552-42,744) suicides were associated with unemployment in 2007 and 46,131 (44,292-47,970) in 2009, indicating 4983 excess suicides since the economic crisis in 2008. INTERPRETATION: Suicides associated with unemployment totalled a nine-fold higher number of deaths than excess suicides attributed to the most recent economic crisis. Prevention strategies focused on the unemployed and on employment and its conditions are necessary not only in difficult times but also in times of stable economy. FUNDING: University of Zurich.

Relationship of suicide rates to economic variables in Europe: 2000-2011.

BACKGROUND: It is unclear whether there is a direct link between economic crises and changes in suicide rates. AIMS: The Lopez-Ibor Foundation launched an initiative to study the possible impact of the economic crisis on European suicide rates. METHOD: Data was gathered and analysed from 29 European countries and included the number of deaths by suicide in men and women, the unemployment rate, the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, the annual economic growth rate and inflation. RESULTS: There was a strong correlation between suicide rates and all economic indices except GPD per capita in men but only a correlation with unemployment in women. However, the increase in suicide rates occurred several months before the economic crisis emerged. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, this study confirms a general relationship between the economic environment and suicide rates; however, it does not support there being a clear causal relationship between the current economic crisis and an increase in the suicide rate.

Assessing a financial incentive for reducing length of stay of psychiatric inpatients: implications for financing psychiatric services.

QUESTIONS UNDER STUDY: Restricted government budgets are forcing countries to implement more efficient health measures. Unlike in somatic medicine, the process of evaluating payment systems in psychiatry in Switzerland is ongoing. A pilot approach in one psychiatric hospital, here called "new remuneration system (NRS)", was introduced to better control length of stay (LOS) by combining a lump sum with degressive daily rates. This is a first evaluation of the NRS in terms of a reduction of the LOS, and the prevention of early readmissions by analysing meaningful outcome categories. METHODS: The total sample consisted of N = 66,626 psychiatric inpatient episodes and a subsample of N = 60,847. Data were collected from the hospital using the NRS and three comparison hospitals in the Canton of Zurich. The observation period covered 2005 to 2011, the years before and after the implementation of the NRS in 2009. To examine the outcome categories, general logistic models were used. RESULTS: The median LOS at all four hospitals was 21 days (IQR: 46-8). In the NRS-hospital, there was a significantly higher proportion of 6 to10day stays after 2009, indicating an influence of the lumpsum measure. At the same time, data revealed a somewhat lower proportion of readmissions within 30 days in the NRS-hospital. In general, effect sizes were small. CONCLUSIONS: Within the observation period of three years since 2009, the NRS had a small influence on LOS and early readmissions. The stability of effects needs to be monitored. More sophisticated modellings of the NRS might lead to further insights.

Antidepressants: relationship to the time to psychiatric readmission and probability of being in hospital in depressive patients.

INTRODUCTION: Although antidepressants play a major role in the treatment of patients with depression, it is unclear which specific antidepressants are more efficacious than others. This study aims to analyze the relationship between several antidepressant substances and the time to readmission as well as the probability of being in hospital in a given week by using prescription data. METHODS: The database was health-insurance claim data from the new Federal States in Germany. The analysis consisted of all patients with unipolar depression at their index admission in 2007 (N = 1803). Patients were followed up for 2 years after discharge from index hospitalization. Statistical analyses were conducted by discrete-time hazards models and general estimation equation models, accounting for various predictors. RESULTS: Of all prescribed antidepressant substances, sertraline was related to an increased time to readmission by 37% and to a reduction in the probability of being in hospital in a given week by 40%. However, it was prescribed to only about 5% of the patients. CONCLUSION: In this study, only sertraline appeared to have clinical and economic advantages. It is remarkable that just a minority of patients received sertraline in our study, thus differing from the prescription pattern in the US.

[How sustainable is supported employment? A follow-up investigation]. / Wie nachhaltig ist Supported Employment? Eine katamnestische Untersuchung.

SUBJECT: The largest European multicenter randomized controlled trial to date on the effectiveness of supported employment (EQOLISE) was conducted in six European centres until 2005. It revealed that the intervention "individual placement and support" was more effective than conventional prevocational training services. The aim of this investigation was to assess the Zurich sample (individuals with schizophrenic, schizoaffective or bipolar disorders) 24 months after termination of the EQOLISE trial in terms of working situation, income, and hospital admissions. More favorable outcomes concerning these parameters were assumed for the intervention group. METHODS: Assessment of the working situation and psychiatric hospitalizations since the end as well as the development of salaries since the start of EQOLISE. Comparisons between groups and illustration of incomes using a random coefficient model were conducted. RESULTS: 50% of the original sample could be assessed. All subjects who worked in competitive workplaces at the end of EQOLISE were met in a different situation. No differences were found concerning hospital admissions. The mean monthly income considerably increased during EQOLISE and decreased during the third year. At the time of follow-up it was approximately at the same level as the slightly increased control group. CONCLUSIONS: This investigation points at limited sustainability of supported employment among individuals with severe mental disorders in terms of maintenance of employment and income if the job coaching is not continued.

Does psychopathology at admission predict the length of inpatient stay in psychiatry? Implications for financing psychiatric services.

BACKGROUND: The debate on appropriate financing systems in inpatient psychiatry is ongoing. In this context, it is important to control resource use in terms of length of stay (LOS), which is the most costly factor in inpatient care and the one that can be influenced most easily. Previous studies have shown that psychiatric diagnoses provide only limited justification for explaining variation in LOS, and it has been suggested that measures such as psychopathology might be more appropriate to predict resource use. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between LOS and psychopathological syndromes or symptoms at admission as well as other characteristics such as sociodemographic and clinical variables. METHODS: We considered routine medical data of patients admitted to the Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich in the years 2008 and 2009. Complete data on psychopathology at hospital admission were available in 3,220 inpatient episodes. A subsample of 2,939 inpatient episodes was considered in final statistical models, including psychopathology as well as complete datasets of further measures (e.g. sociodemographic, clinical, treatment-related and psychosocial variables). We used multivariate linear as well as logistic regression analysis with forward selection procedure to determine the predictors of LOS. RESULTS: All but two syndrome scores (mania, hostility) were positively related to the length of stay. Final statistical models showed that syndromes or symptoms explained about 5% of the variation in length of stay. The inclusion of syndromes or symptoms as well as basic treatment variables and other factors led to an explained variation of up to 25%. CONCLUSIONS: Psychopathological syndromes and symptoms at admission and further characteristics only explained a small proportion of the length of inpatient stay. Thus, according to our sample, psychopathology might not be suitable as a primary indicator for estimating LOS and contingent costs. This might be considered in the development of future costing systems in psychiatry.