Which factors affect the costs of psychiatric residential care? Findings from the Italian PROGRES study

Abstract

In the latest years, mental hospitals have gradually been replaced by a community-based network of facilities, including non-hospital residential facilities (RFs). Little information is still available about their costs. Our aims were to estimate the costs of Italian RFs and to evaluate which factors affect the cost of RFs and their patients. A representative sample of 265 Italian RFs, hosting 2962 patients, was selected for the study. RFs costs and costs of psychiatric, medical and informal care were estimated. Patients in RFs cost between 7851 and 34 650 US$ per year; to this amount, it should be added from 2032 to 4702 US$ per year for the community psychiatric services (CPS). Significant differences were found by facility type, geographical areas, number of beds and age and diagnosis. About 45% of the variability for RF costs and 19% for CPS costs was explained by the regression models. The results can be useful to inform service planning and resource allocation.