[Residential facilities and day centres in mental health. Is there any difference?]

We wanted to investigate to what extent and in what characteristics the patients cared in the psychiatric residential facilities (RF) were similar to those in the day-centres (DC), and whether 6-month improvements in the two settings were comparable.

We described 141 patients admitted to the RF and 180 in DC of three mental health service networks in Milan and near Milan. They were evaluated again after six months.

In both groups, we identified subgroups of more intensive treatment: 45% of those in residential treatment were in high intensity rehabilitation facilities, and those who followed a residential program of >12 hours/week were 53%. The mean duration of treatment in the residential treatment was 40 months (SD 55.7) and in DC 49.6 months (49.3). The two groups differed in the overall scores of the HoNOS, but differences emerged in the subscales relative to daily life activities and living conditions. Among those in RF, about half had a house, versus 99% among those in DC. After six months, clinically significant modifications were small in both groups.

Residential patients had more needs than DC patients. It is possible that some of the residential patients might be treated with intensive DC program, but the absence of a home for the majority of residential facilities patients makes this unlikely.