Patient Population at a Glance
The average age of patients in the psychiatric home health care study conducted by Western New York Staff Builders in Buffalo was 10 years with an age range between 6 and 17 years of age.
Other characteristics of study participants include:
• The majority of the patients, 83%, were male.
• Nearly 60% of patients were referred to the RESTORE program following inpatient discharge where the average length of stay was 15 days.
• The remaining 41% of patients were referred by psychiatrists who were either changing a patient’s medication regime, attempting to prevent hospitalization, or requesting implementation of a behavioral plan for the patient in the home setting.
• Prior to admission to the RESTORE program 83% of patients had been hospitalized an average of 1.6 times.
• Nearly 40% of patients had two or more inpatient hospitalizations in their lifetime.
• Patients in the sample group all had Axis I disorders defined by DSM IV-R with 70% diagnosed with two or more Axis I disorders.
• The average length of stay in home care was 35.5 days.
• The average number of nursing visits per patient was 10.5.
The breakdown of the Axis I diagnoses and the average number of visits per diagnosis is as follows:
Diagnosis Percent # of Visits
Intermittent explosive disorder 24% (n=13) 12
Attention deficit disorders 16% (n=9) 8
Major depression 15% (n=8) 11
Oppositional defiant disorder 15% (n=8) 15
Conduct disorder 5% (n=3) 4
Anxiety NOS 5% (n=3) 9
Acute Psychosis NOS 4% (n=2) 12
Post traumatic stress disorder 4% (n=2) 14
Adjustment disorder 4% (n=2) 8
Schizophrenia 2% (n=1) 8
Bipolar disorder 2% (n=1) 9
Dysthymia 2% (n=1) 1
Impulse control disorder 2% (n=1) 7
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