Am J Psychiatry 1977; 134:502-507
Copyright © 1977 by American Psychiatric Association
Brief hospitalization: a two-year follow-up
MI Herz, J Endicott and RL Spitzer
The author present two-year follow-up data of a controlled study of 175
newly admitted inpatients who lived with families, comparing the relative
efficacy of brief hospitalization (with and without transitional day care)
and standard hospitalization (with all patients offered outpatient
aftercare). The long-term results confirm the preliminary finding that
brief hospitalization is preferable to longer term hospitalization for most
patients. Briefly hospitalized patients spent significantly less time as
inpatients and showed less psychopathology and impairment in role
functioning. In contrast to preliminary findings, the long-term results
indicate that use of day care reduced the number of inpatient days.
