Alteration of profile of treatment of the public psychiatric hospitals of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in the context of mental health care reform

Abstract

This article seeks to describe the profile of treatment and internment in public psychiatric hospitals in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, from 2002 to 2011. The changes in the characteristics of treatment and the profiles of the patients treated are analyzed in the context of health care reform. It is a study of temporal series with trend analysis by means of linear regression. There was a reduction in the total of patients treated in the period under scrutiny. Inversely, there was an increase in internments with a reduction in length of stay, though no change in readmission rates. Patients from Belo Horizonte prevailed, however a relative increase in demand from the surrounding area was observed. There was a reversal in the prevalence of morbidity switching from psychotic disorders to disorders resulting from the use of alcohol and/or other drugs. The alteration observed in the profile of treatment in public psychiatric hospitals in Belo Horizonte was concomitant with the progressive implementation of community mental health services, which have probably met the demand that was formerly directed to these hospitals. Currently the psychiatric hospital is not the first, much less the only venue for treatment in the mental health network in Minas Gerais.