Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T16:47:58.989Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Residential care: Dutch and Italian residents of residential care facilities compared

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 May 2011

Charlotte De Heer-Wunderink ,
Annemarie D. Caro-Nienhuis ,
Sjoerd Sytema  and
Durk Wiersma
Charlotte De Heer-Wunderink*
Affiliation:
University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, University Centre of Psychiatry, Groningen (The Netherlands)
Annemarie D. Caro-Nienhuis
Affiliation:
University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, University Centre of Psychiatry, Groningen (The Netherlands)
Sjoerd Sytema
Affiliation:
University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, University Centre of Psychiatry, Groningen (The Netherlands)
Durk Wiersma
Affiliation:
University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, University Centre of Psychiatry, Groningen (The Netherlands)
*
Address for correspondence: Dr. C. de Heer-Wunderink, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Groningen, PO Box 30001, 9700RB Groningen (The Netherlands). E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Aims – Characteristics of patients living in residential care facilities and the availability of mental hospital- and residential beds in Italy and The Netherlands were compared to assess whether differences in the process of deinstitutionalisation have influenced the composition of their residential patient populations. Methods – Data from the Dutch UTOPIA-study (UTilization & Outcome of Patients In the Association of Dutch residential care providers) and the Italian PROGRES-study were used. Results – Dutch residents were more likely to suffer from substance or alcohol abuse than Italian residents. The latter were more likely to suffer from schizophrenia or a related disorder, less likely to have experienced mental hospital admissions and showed an overall shorter duration of stay in residential care facilities. Contrary to our expectations Dutch residents, who still have good access to long stay beds in mental hospitals, are not less disabled than Italian residents. Finally, the number of beds in residential care facilities per 10,000 inhabitants in the Netherlands is twice (6) as high as in Italy (3). Conclusions – The Italian and Dutch deinstitutionalisation processes have resulted in a different availability in the number of residential beds. However, it did not influence the overall level of functioning of both residential populations.

Declaration of interest: An unconditional grant was received from the Alliance of the 22 Dutch independent residential care providers.

Keywords

deinstitutionalisationresidential facilitiesschizophreniasevere mentally ill
Type
Original Articles
Information
Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences , Volume 17 , Issue 2 , June 2008 , pp. 162 - 165
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

de Girolamo, G. & Cozza, M. (2000). The Italian psychiatric Reform: a 20-year perspective. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry 23, 43–49.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
de Girolamo, G., Picardi, A., Micciolo, R., Falloon, A., Fioritti, A. & Morosini, P. (2002). Residential Care in Italy. A survey of non hospital facilities. British Journal of Psychiatry 181, 220–225.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
de Girolamo, G., Picardi, A., Santone, G., Falloon, A., Morosini, P., Fioritti, A. & Micciolo, R. (2004). The severely mentally ill in residential facilities: a national survey in Italy. Psychological Medicine 34, 1–11.Google Scholar
Leff, J. & Trieman, N. (2000). Long-stay patients discharged from psychiatric hospitals. British Journal of Psychiatry 176, 217–223.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lelliott, P.Audini, B., Knapp, M. & Chisholm, D. (1996). The Mental Health Residential Care Study: classification of facilities and description of residents. British Journal of Psychiatry 169, 139–147.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Moos, R.H., McCoy, L. & Moos, B.S. (2000). Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) Ratings: Determinants and Role as Predictors of One-Year Treatment Outcomes. Journal of Clinical Psychology 56, 449–461.3.0.CO;2-8>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Priebe, S., Badesconyi, A., Fioritti, A., Hansson, L.Killian, R., Torres-Gonzales, F., Turner, T. & Wiersma, D. (2005). Re-institutionalisation in mental health care: data from six European countries. British Medical Journal, 330 123–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wiersma, D., Kluiter, H., Pijl, Y.J. & Sytema, S. (2002). Mental Health Care in the Netherlands. Community Care without Hospitals. International Journal of Mental Health 13, 50–65.Google Scholar