The effect of psychiatric home nurse follow-up on readmission rates of patients with depression

Abstract

Background: Patients who are still recovering from depression are being discharged from the inpatient setting to their homes much sooner than they were a decade ago. Few studies of the effectiveness of home follow-up for patients with depression have been conducted in the United States. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether hospital readmission rates of patients with depression decreased as a result of psychiatric nurse home visits. Design: A prospective descriptive research design was used. Patients admitted to the mental health unit during a 30-day period were followed up in this study. Patients received follow-up care only if it was prescribed by the physician; no manipulation of subjects occurred. The health care professionals who provided care for the patients were contacted in 60 days to determine the readmission status of the patients. Results: A total of 68 subjects were followed up to determine readmission rates. Twelve subjects received psychiatric home nurse follow-up, and 56 received standard care. A substantial reduction in readmissions was found in the psychiatric nurse home follow-up group (x2 (1, N = 68) = 968, p = .008). No readmissions occurred in the group with psychiatric nurse home follow-up care, but 33% (n = 36) of the group without home follow-up were readmitted, despite similar outpatient care. Conclusions: The findings provide support for psychiatric nurse home follow-up for patients with depression after discharge from an inpatient setting.