Sex differences in service usage in long-term psychiatric care are women adequately served?

There is a paucity of research concerning service usage and needs of female long-term psychiatric patients. A series of studies comparing the provisions for chronically mentally ill men and women in a south London community-focused rehabilitation and continuing care service indicate marked differences in the services received by men and women, and raise questions concerning whether the needs of female patients are adequately served. As a group the women had been in contact with services for longer, had received less intensive input from services, and it appeared that the services had been less responsive to their changing needs. Among those in high contact with the services, the functioning of men and women did not differ, yet women were over-represented in workshops designed for those functioning at a lower level. Women over 45 years of age seemed to be particularly badly served by the organised activities offered.