Social deprivation and psychiatric service use for different diagnostic groups

Use of psychiatric inpatient services by heavy users: Findings from a national survey in Italy

Purpose

To analyze factors associated with a patient's probability of being a Heavy User (HU) of inpatient psychiatric services and to compare the HU inpatient population with Non-Heavy Users (NHUs).

Patients and methods

The survey was conducted among inpatients enrolled in the PROGRES-Acute-project, an Italian nationwide survey of public and private inpatient facilities. Patients with three or more admissions over the last 12 months were considered HUs, and patients who had undergone one or two admissions during the same period made up the NHU group.

Results

Four hundred and thirty-five (40.5%) were HUs, and 640 (59.5%) NHUs. HUs were younger, more frequently unmarried, unemployed, receiving a disability-pension, and either homeless or living in a residential facility. HUs were more likely to have experienced conflicts with their partners or family members during the week prior to admission. A logistic regression analysis revealed that age, age at first admission, number of life-time admissions, and having been the victim of violence were the most important predictive factors for the HU phenomenon.

Conclusion

Our study suggests that specific attention should be given to patients’ family context, due to its crucial role in daily informal care and in the triggering of events leading to rehospitalization.

A Comparison of Mental Health Care Systems in Northern and Southern Europe: A Service Mapping Study

Mental health services (MHS) have gone through vast changes during the last decades, shifting from hospital to community-based care. Developing the optimal balance and use of resources requires standard comparisons of mental health care systems across countries. This study aimed to compare the structure, personnel resource allocation, and the productivity of the MHS in two benchmark health districts in a Nordic welfare state and a southern European, family-centered country. The study is part of the REFINEMENT (Research on Financing Systems' Effect on the Quality of Mental Health Care) project. The study areas were the Helsinki and Uusimaa region in Finland and the Girona region in Spain. The MHS were mapped by using the DESDE-LTC (Description and Evaluation of Services and Directories for Long Term Care) tool. There were 6.7 times more personnel resources in the MHS in Helsinki and Uusimaa than in Girona. The resource allocation was more residential-service-oriented in Helsinki and Uusimaa. The difference in mental health personnel resources is not explained by the respective differences in the need for MHS among the population. It is important to make a standard comparison of the MHS for supporting policymaking and to ensure equal access to care across European countries.

Does primary care mental health resourcing affect the use and costs of secondary psychiatric services?

Collaborative care models for treatment of depression and anxiety disorders in primary care have been shown to be effective. The aim of this study was to investigate at the municipal level to what extent investment in mental health personnel at primary care health centres in the study area is reflected in the costs and use of secondary psychiatric services. Furthermore, we analysed whether the service provision and use of secondary psychiatric care correlates with the socioeconomic indicators of need. We found significant variation in the amount of mental health personnel provided at the health centres, uncorrelated with the indicators of need nor with the costs of secondary psychiatric care. The amount of mental health nurses at the health centres correlated inversely with the number of secondary psychiatric outpatient visits, whereas its relation to inpatient days and admission was positive. The costs of secondary psychiatric care correlated with level of psychiatric morbidity and socioeconomic indicators of need. The results suggest that when aiming at equal access of care and cost-efficiency, the primary and secondary care should be organized and planned with integrative collaboration.

Does hospital admission risk for depression vary across social groups? A population-based register study of 231,629 middle-aged Finns

PURPOSE

Evidence on social differentials in depression outcomes remains inconsistent. We assess social predictors of psychiatric admission for depression in a community setting.

METHODS

A register-based 14% sample of community-dwelling Finns aged 40-64 at the end of 1997 was assessed for depression and psychiatric comorbidity, using register data on psychiatric hospital care and medication purchases in 1996-1997. Those with inpatient treatment for unipolar depression (n = 846), those with antidepressant treatment (n = 8,754), and those with neither (n = 222,029) were followed for psychiatric admission with a diagnosis of unipolar depression in 1998-2003. Differentials in admission rates by socioeconomic position, employment status, and living arrangements were studied using Cox proportional hazards modelling.

RESULTS

Among those with prior inpatient or antidepressant treatment, the material aspects of socioeconomic position increased admission risk for depression by 20-40%, even after controlling for baseline depression severity and psychiatric comorbidities, whereas education and occupational social class were unrelated to admission risk. Among inpatients, also having no partner, and among antidepressant users, being previously married and living without co-resident children increased admission risk. However, among inpatients few excess risks reached statistical significance. Among those with no inpatient or antidepressant treatment, all measures of low social position and not living with a partner predicted admission, and the factors had more predictive power in admission than among those with prior treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

Further studies should disentangle the mechanisms behind the higher admission risk among those with fewer economic resources and no co-resident partner.

How can socioeconomic inequalities in hospital admissions be explained? A cohort study

OBJECTIVES

To investigate which antecedent risk factors can explain the social patterning in hospital use.

DESIGN

Prospective cohort study with up to 37 years of follow-up.

SETTING

Representative community sample in the West of Scotland.

PARTICIPANTS

7049 men and 8353 women aged 45-64 years were recruited into the study from the general population between 1972 and 1976 (78% of the eligible population).

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES

Hospital admissions and bed days by cause and by classification into emergency or non-emergency.

RESULTS

All-cause hospital admission rate ratios (RRs) were not obviously socially patterned for women (RR 1.04, 95% CI 0.98 to 1.10) or men (RR 1.0, 95% CI 0.94 to 1.06) in social classes IV and V compared with social classes I and II. However, cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease and stroke in women, and respiratory disease for men and women were socially patterned, although this attenuated markedly with the addition of baseline risk factors. Hospital bed days were generally socially patterned and the differences were largely explained by baseline risk factors. The overall RRs of mental health admissions in contrast were socially patterned for women (RR 1.77, 95% CI 1.38 to 2.27) and men (RR 1.51, 95% CI 1.11 to 2.06) in social classes IV and V compared with social classes I and II, but the pattern did not attenuate with the addition of baseline risk factors. Emergency hospital admissions were associated with lower social class, but there was an inverse relationship for non-emergency hospital admissions.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall admissions to hospital were only marginally socially patterned, and less than would be expected on the basis of the gradient in baseline risk. However, there was marked social patterning in admissions for mental health problems. Non-emergency hospital admissions were patterned inversely according to risk. Further work is required to explain and address this inequitable gradient in healthcare use.

A multi-level study of the determinants of mental health service utilization

BACKGROUND

Until now, research has focused on neighbourhood variations in mental health services and their relationships with local attributes, such as healthcare supply and socio-economic deprivation, without controlling for individual characteristics (age, sex, income, or education, for instance). Hence, this study is a major attempt to clarify the role played by individual and local attributes in the utilization of mental health services. The aim of this study was to disentangle individual and neighbourhood effects on mental health service use.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, individual-level data on 423 participants with a frequent mental health disorder was recruited from the general population and linked to neighbourhood-level data at the census tract level from the 2006 Canadian Census. Neighbourhood variables included socio-economic deprivation, mean income, residential stability and the proportion of recent immigrants. Individual characteristics included gender, age, marital status, self-rated mental health and the number of diagnoses. Multi-level logistic regression was used to assess the effects of individual and neighbourhood characteristics simultaneously on mental health service use.

RESULTS

The intraclass correlation coefficient indicated that 12.26% of the variance of mental health service utilization is at the neighbourhood level. Final analysis showed that at the individual level, being female, married, or self-rating mental health less than excellent increased healthcare use. At the neighbourhood level, deprived socio-economic neighbourhood decreased health service use (OR=0.71, P<0.05), while residential stability increased use (OR=1.24, P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Individual and neighbourhood characteristics determine mental health service utilization. Taking both into consideration allows better targeting of health service policy and planning and enables more accurate needs-based resource allocation. However, future research should continue to investigate the pathway through which neighbourhood affects health service utilization.

Impact of a social and employment crisis on the demand for mental health care (Footwear Crisis, Elche 2004)

INTRODUCTION

Between December 1999 and December 2004 the footwear manufacturing industry in Elche suffered a 24% fall in employment. In this context, it was decided to conduct study to detect possible changes in the demand for mental health care.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The first-time consultations between December 2001 and June 2002 were compared with those seen between October 2004 and April 2005. Differences were looked for in the percentage of referrals for work-related stress factors. The role of these work-related stress factors in the changes detected in the sociodemographic profile of the patients was also evaluated.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

Changes were detected in the sociodemographic profile (gender and education level), employment status and reason for consultation. First consultations increased in the following groups: males, with a higher education level, unemployed, on sick leave or pensioners, and also those with employment problems as the main reason for consultation or a worsening of other health conditions.

Review: the wider social environment and schizophrenia

Rates of schizophrenia differ significantly between groups defined at the social level, eg, urban/rural comparisons, neighborhoods, and ethnic minority status. While earlier studies were not able to determine if the social environment influenced the development of schizophrenia (causation) or whether individuals at risk aggregated in adverse social environments (selection), the recent development of multilevel modeling should inform this debate. To date, there are few examples of multilevel analyses in schizophrenia research; however, the small number of studies suggest that there may be a neighborhood social contextual effect that influences rates of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. Further research is urgently required to progress our knowledge of how individuals, their genes, and the neighborhoods they live in, interact with each other. Studies need to use well-specified multilevel models, and until then, we should remain cautious in our interpretation of such findings.

Explaining service use for mental health problems in the Dutch general population: the role of resources, emotional disorder and functional impairment

OBJECTIVE

To analyse explanations of service use in terms of resources, emotional (mood or anxiety) disorder and functional impairment.

METHOD

Data was derived from a prospective cohort study in a sample representative (n = 4848) of the Dutch adult general population.

RESULTS

The occurrence of an emotional (mood or anxiety) disorder led to a greater use of services as a partial consequence of the functional impairments that accompanied the disorder, but this applied only to primary care services and not to specialised mental health services. After adjustment for the influence of all other determinants in the model, people with more education and those with higher neuroticism scores were more likely to use specialised services in particular.

CONCLUSIONS

Future research could benefit from applying the models derived here to further clarify the use of the two service modalities, as well as to assess additional psychological resources.

Patterns of mental health service utilisation in Italy and Spain--an investigation using the European Service Mapping Schedule

BACKGROUND

Methods for comparing local mental health service systems are needed to allow identification of different patterns of service provision and of inequities within and between countries.

AIM

The aim of this study was to describe and compare mental health service systems in 13 catchment areas in Spain and Italy. Within each country, a range of area characteristics was represented.

METHOD

The European Service Mapping Schedule (ESMS) and European Socio-Demographic Schedule (ESDS) were used to describe: (i) socio-demographic and geographical area characteristics; (ii) services provided; and (iii) service utilisation in each area.

RESULTS

Great differences emerged in patterns of service provision and use between and within countries. In contrast to Northern Europe, high unemployment rates were not associated with high service utilisation rates, but areas with large numbers of single-person households tended to have high service use. Most service utilisation rates were substantially below those reported from Northern European studies. Spanish centres tended to have low rates of hospital service utilisation despite limited development of community-based services. Trieste, where there has been a strong emphasis on developing innovative community services, showed a distinctive pattern with low hospital bed use and high rates of day service use and of contacts in the community.

CONCLUSION

This methodology yielded useful data, which raise significant questions regarding equity and the implementation of mental health policy. The very large variations indicate that underlying local patterns of service provision must be investigated and taken into account in the interpretation of research evaluations of interventions.