Abstract
The aim of this study is to investigate the present status of discharge planning for psychiatric inpatients in medical centers in Taiwan, and to reflect the opinions of psychiatric staff about discharge planning. Using a questioonaire comprising semi-structured and structured questions, we surveyed 350 psychiatric staff in 8 medical centers in Taiwan. Among them, 269 subjects returned the questionnaire with 266 valid responses. The results showed that psychiatric discharge services are provided in all 8 medical centers and the most frequently provide service is "Providing information and education"(97.4%),which the least one is "Constructing clients' formal discharge plan"(22.9%).Among the content of information and education service, medication instruction(92.9%) and self-care instruction(81.2%)were the most frequently conducted items which sexual education(19.9%)and home health care orientation(39.6%)were the least ones. The results reflected overlapping in discharge planning among medical service providers, and therefore there should be further coordination among them. Social workers felt more frustration in discharge planning than staff of other disciplines. Most of the subjects believed that a full time coordinator to organize patients' discharge plan is necessary. Lack of community resources and referral routine were ranked as the most difficult items in discharge services. Informal discharge plan for psychiatric inpatients has been provided in medical centers in Taiwan, but there are still many problems and lack of formal discharge plan service. Psychiatric staff needs more education, communication and cooperation in this field. Furthermore, standardization of discharge plan service and referring system are also necessary to improve the quality of patients' care.
Original language | Chinese (Traditional) |
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Pages (from-to) | 103-113 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | 公共衛生 |
Volume | 26 |
Issue number | 2 |
State | Published - Jul 1999 |
Keywords
- Psychiatric inpatient
- Mental disorder
- Discharge plan