Sociodemographic and Clinical Predictors of the Length of Psychiatric Inpatient Stay of Immigrants in Switzerland.

Renée Frizi,Barbara Lay,Erich Seifritz,Benedikt Habermeyer,Patrik Roser,Wolfram Kawohl

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2020.585798

Renée Frizi, Barbara Lay + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.585798

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Abstract

Immigrants with mental disorders have consistently been reported to spend shorter time in the psychiatric hospital compared to native patients. The aim of this study was to identify sociodemographic, clinical and migration-related predictors of a shorter length of psychiatric inpatient stay among immigrants in Switzerland. All patients of a foreign nationality admitted for inpatient treatment in the year 2016 (N = 279) were included in this study. The sample characteristics were drawn from the register of the psychiatric hospital. Within this sample, self-harm and substance use predicted a shorter inpatient treatment episode whereas disturbances of general psychosocial functioning were a predictor of a longer length of stay. As similar results were also reported for non-immigrant patients, the impact of these specific behavioral and social problems on the length of inpatient stay does not appear to be migrant-specific. Moreover, a country of origin outside Europe was a strong predictor of shorter length of stay pointing to inequalities of inpatient psychiatric treatment within the group of immigrants. Therefore, the cultural background and migrant history of immigrants in psychiatry need stronger consideration in order to eliminate disadvantages in mental health care.

Highlights

Migration is a universal phenomenon across the whole globe and throughout the entire history of mankind
Half of the immigrants have stayed in Switzerland for more than 20 years and the majority of them came from countries within Europe
The analysis of the immigrants’ data revealed that a country of origin “outside Europe” was a strong predictor of a shorter length of psychiatric inpatient stay. This finding is in accordance with a previous Swiss case-control study that examined a variety of clinical measures, including the length of stay, in a large sample of immigrants (N = 4’826) compared to natives matched for age, gender and psychiatric diagnosis [10]

Summary

Introduction

Migration is a universal phenomenon across the whole globe and throughout the entire history of mankind. A number of studies from Europe and North America has linked migration to psychological stress that may lead to manifest psychiatric symptoms and mental illness, schizophrenia, alcohol and drug abuse, anxiety and depression as well as suicidal behavior [2]. Interpretation of these findings should, consider that the process of migration is highly heterogeneous and its impact on mental health shows a large variation depending on the nature and reasons for the migration and the degree of acculturation [3]. These factors are mainly influenced by the immigrant’s personal and social background; the social, cultural, political, and economic conditions of the immigrant’s home country; and the recipient society’s attitude toward immigrants [3].

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