State Hospitals and Community Care

Dan A. Lewis and Rachel L. Anderson

IPR working papers from Institute for Policy Resarch at Northwestern University

Abstract: No problem has been thornier for state departments of mental health than what is commonly referred to as "linkage." Linkage is the process through which a person with a serious mental illness who has been discharged from a state mental hospital is connected to further care in the community. This connection leads to the client using services provided by some community agency. The assumption is that the utilization of those services will improve the probabilities of a positive clinical outcome and avoid further hospitalizations for the individual in question. This study explores the correlates of community linkages for urban mental patients. Using a random sample of state mental patients from three urban state hospitals, the researchers describe the patients' experiences with community agencies after state hospitalization. Interviews were conducted with 40 patients and data was collected from the community agencies to which they were linked. Individuals were randomly chosen from hospital lists of clients discharged or deflected from these facilities. The results show that patients with a history of homelessness are the most difficult to link. Persons with more significant self-care problems and a history of residential instability receive fewer services.

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wop:nwuipr:97-19

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