Results of five years study of the epidemiological characteristics of psychotic patients participated in the program of Day hospital, in the Hellenic Center for Mental Health and Research, Branch of Heraklion, Crete

Background

The purpose of this study was the description of the epidemiological characteristics and the results of the therapeutic interventions in the Day Hospital(DH) of Mental Health Center(MHC) of Heraklion, Crete, and more specifically for psychotic patients, over five years.

Materials and methods

Our sample consistent of 62 psychotic patients (44 men and 18 women) who participated in the DH of the MHC, in groups of 10 and for six months period, between the year 2003 and 2008.Data was analyzed with SPSS 15

Results

The majority of the participants were between the age 26-35 years (41%) and 36-45 years (33,9%) old .71% were diagnosed with psychosis, 11,3% bipolar, while 14,5% had more than one diagnoses. Among the participants 79% came from the city of Heraklion and the rest from rural areas, 92% were non married or divorced, on the other hand 94% lived with some family members. Although, 72,6% had a high school or higher level education, 87,1% were either unemployed or disabled to work. A 56,5% of our participants had been hospitalized in closed psychiatric units and 49,4% reported a family history of mental disorder. Duration of participation in DH was >6 months for 53,2% of our sample and 53,2% was compliant with treatment. Moreover, compliance to treatment was negatively correlated to recurrence (p = 0,036) and positively to the duration of participation in the DH(P = 0,011). On the other hand pharmaceutical interventions included administration of antipsychotics (82,3% atypical, 9,7% typical), antidepressants (56,5%), mood stabilizers (22,8%) and benzodiazepines(25,8%). Medications were in tablets for 79%, while 16% were on intramuscular medications. Other therapeutic interventions included occupational therapy (66,1%), group therapy (85,5%) and crisis intervention (90,3%).

Conclusions

Our DH mainly applies to young and middle age psychotic patients, with severe impairment of their function improving compliance to their treatment and reducing the recurrence of the disorder.