RESEARCH ARTICLE


The Role of Family Variables in the Length of Stay of Psychiatric In-patients



Satoko Yoneyama1, 2, 3, *, Yudo Makita1, Keiko Miyazu1, Kazuhiko Katsukawa1, Eiichi Yoneyama1, Shinji Masuda1, Yukiko Nakajima1, Yasuhiro Kawasaki2, Kenji Miyazu1
1 Korenkai Minami-Toyama Nakagawa Hospital, Toyama, Japan
2 Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kanazawa Medical University, Ishikawa, Japan
3 Department of Human Health Sciences, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan


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Creative Commons License
© Yoneyama et al.; Licensee Bentham Open

open-access license: This is an open access articles licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 International Public License (CC BY-NC 4.0) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode), which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided that the work is properly cited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the Korenkai Minami-Toyama Nakagawa Hospital 146 O-machi, Toyama, Japan; Tel: +81-76-425-1780; Fax: +81-76-425-1730; Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kanazawa Medical University 1-1 Daigaku, Uchinada, Ishikawa, Japan; Tel: +81-76-286-2211; Fax: +81-76-286-3341; Department of Human Health Sciences, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine 53 Shogoin kawahara-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan; Tel/Fax: +81-75-751-3969; E-mail: yoneyama@kanazawa-med.ac.jp


Abstract

Background:

In Japan, the number of beds and average length of stay in a psychiatric ward are greater than in other developed countries.

Objective:

The present study aimed to investigate the association between family variables and the length of stay of patients with mental and behavioural disorders in a private psychiatric hospital in Japan.

Methods:

The medical records of patients discharged during a one-year period (n=56: men 50.0% excepting 27 patients discharged due to death were re-examined regarding age, laundry type (self-washing of clothes, family washing or supplier washing), number of family visits per one month while hospitalised, and family structure prior to hospitalisation. A length of stay greater than six months was considered the cut-off point for a long hospital stay. Bivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify factors independently associated with the length of stay, adjusted for sex, age, and mental and/or behavioural disorders according to the criteria of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems.

Results:

The bivariate-adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence intervals) for in-patients hospitalised for more than six months was 0.08 (0.01, 0.48) for those who used family washing (p = 0.006) compared with those who used supplier washing. The number of visits per month and family structures before hospitalisation were not significantly associated.

Conclusion:

These results suggest that within a private psychiatric hospital in Japan, family washing is associated with shortened stays and frequency of family visits, while family structure is not associated with these factors.

Keywords: Discharge, Epidemiology, Family, Japan, Length of stay, Private psychiatric hospital, Social hospitalisation.