The Nordic comparative study on sectorized psychiatry: Clinical and social patient characteristics predicting use of psychiatric services during a 1-year follow-up study

As part of a Nordic comparative study on sectorized psychiatry in seven Nordic catchment areas a prospective investigation of clinical and social characteristics of the patients predicting utilization of psychiatric services during a 1-year follow-up study was performed. The results showed that a higher utilization of services was related to older age, living alone, not working on the open labor market, and female sex. Clinical characteristics of a higher utilization were a psychosis diagnosis and a history of inpatient and outpatient treatment. The use of resources was very skewed insofar as the 10% of the patients constituting the high consumption group accounted for 90% of all inpatient days, 75% of all days in day care, and 2/3 of the use of services as measured by a Service Consumption Score. To be a multiple user of inpatient services was, however, only predicted by diagnosis. It is concluded that considerations of social support and social integration obviously are important in the planning of these resources divided into different care levels in community-based services but also in the planning of the treatment for the individual patient. Community psychiatric seivices, Social indicators, Utilization of care.