Am J Psychiatry 1991; 148:221-223
Copyright © 1991 by American Psychiatric Association
The effect of financial management on alcohol-related hospitalization
B Spittle
Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago Medical School, Dunedin, New Zealand.
OBJECTIVE: Treatment-unresponsive alcoholics in New Zealand who are unable
to care for themselves tend to be hospitalized for lengthy periods of time.
The author examined the effect of adding financial management to the
therapeutic management of such patients. The null hypothesis was that this
would have no effect on the duration of alcohol-related hospitalization.
METHOD: All 61 alcoholic patients registered with an alcohol outpatient
clinic who received financial management over a period of 6 years were
included in the study. Their alcohol-related disabilities were so severe
that they had resulted or were likely to result in lengthy or frequent
periods of hospitalization. The financial management involved putting each
patient's income into a checking account for which a budget advisory
officer was cosignatory for withdrawals. The advisor saw to it that
patients' basic living requirements were being met and that expenditure on
alcohol was not having a detrimental effect. Participation was voluntary
for voluntary patients and involuntary for committed patients. The
durations of each patient's alcohol-related hospitalizations were compared
for two equal periods of time before and after financial management was
instituted. RESULTS: The null hypothesis was not supported. The duration of
alcohol-related hospitalizations after financial management was instituted
was 86% less than it was before such management. CONCLUSIONS: For the
patient who is struggling in the face of excessive drinking to cope with
the tasks of daily living, including the provision of adequate shelter and
nutrition, the benefits of adding financial management to other therapeutic
strategies should be considered.
