Background factors as determinants of satisfaction with care among first-episode psychosis patients

To evaluate the impact of demographic and psychosocial background factors and psychiatric and functional status before and at admission on the patients' satisfaction with care (PSC) among first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients.

One year after entering the Parachute Project, 134 FEP patients completed a patient satisfaction questionnaire. The association with demographic and psychosocial background factors, together with psychiatric and functional status before and after admission, was analysed.

Twenty-nine per cent of the variance of PSC was explained by factors such as educational level, social network, duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) and Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) the year prior to onset. Negative symptoms and lack of hope at admission were also predictors of PSC. The strongest predictor was DUP.

Affecting the public knowledge in psychiatric problems and psychiatric treatment, together with early intervention strategies aiming to decrease the prodromal and DUP period among FEP patients, can positively influence the patients' experience of given care. By increasing the knowledge of available psychiatric treatment, the sense of powerlessness might decrease among the affected persons, and the possibility of early help seeking might increase.