Efficacy of day care treatment against readmission in patients with schizophrenia: A comparison between out‐patients with and without day care treatment

The present study examined the efficacy of day care (DC) treatment against readmission to a mental hospital. Subjects were 65 out‐patients with chronic schizophrenia after discharge. Day care treatment was defined as positive if patients were under DC treatment constantly for 4 months or more with a frequency of at least one visit per week. Information regarding demographic and disease‐related factors was obtained from medical records at the time of discharge. Logistic regression analysis was used to calculate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) with adjustment for confounding variables. The modestly preventive efficacy of DC treatment against readmission was observed within 2 years after discharge (adjusted OR 0.52; 95% CI 0.12–2.35). The present findings suggest that DC treatment may be preventive against readmission for schizophrenic out‐patients.