Abstract
To describe the demographic profile, social functioning, and quality of life of a population of long-stay care patients in a psychiatric hospital. A study was carried out in Porto Alegre, Southern Brazil, in 2002. A total of 584 (96%) long-stay patients were assessed by means of the following instruments: the World Health Organization Quality of Life, the Social Behavior Schedule, the Independent Living Skills Survey, the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale and another instrument for assessing disability (Questionnaire for Assessing Physical Disability). The average hospital stay was 26 years (SD: 15.8) and 46.6% of inpatients had no physical disability. Patients had their social functioning skills and autonomy largely impaired. Few of them (27.7%) answered the instrument for assessing quality of life, and showed significant impairments in all domains. The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale evidenced a low prevalence of positive symptoms in this population. The institutionalized population studied presented significantly impaired social functioning, autonomy, and quality of life. These aspects need to be taken into consideration while planning for their deinstitutionalization.
Highlights
Mental health care has improved over the last century due to advancements in many fields
The institutionalized population studied presented significantly impaired social functioning, autonomy, and quality of life. These aspects need to be taken into consideration while planning for their deinstitutionalization
The variables quality of life, autonomy, social functioning and psychopathology were assessed by means of the following instruments: World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOLBref),[21] a questionnaire about quality of life, used to assess four domains: psychological, psychical, social relations, and environment, and was adapted to the Portuguese language.[7,8]
Summary
Mental health care has improved over the last century due to advancements in many fields. The progress in scientific knowledge, development of psychotropic drugs, replacement of the hospital-centered model by community care aiming at patients’ comprehensive care, and their social reinsertion are factors that should be stressed. Among the numerous consequences this “revolution” has lead to, there were changes in patients’ profiles, and goals and length of hospitalization.[22] old psychiatric hospitals have become general hospitals or, inversely, psychiatric wards were created inside general hospitals.[12]. Some chronic patients were unable to socially interact again. This problem is important in countries with lack of investments in alternative treatment proposals. Worldwide, either in small or large scale, there are still institutions similar to the old-style psychiatric hospitals
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