Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 29, 2025

Assessment of Dependence in Activities of Daily Living Among Older Patients in an Acute Care Unit
Published on: September 30, 2020
[Distance Decay Effects in a Swiss Mental Health Services System]
Niklaus Stulz1, Benjamin Dubno1, Ralf Gebhardt2
1Ärztliche Direktion, Integrierte Psychiatrie Winterthur-Zürcher Unterland, Winterthur, Schweiz.
Objective:
To investigate psychiatric service use depending on distances (travel times) to inpatient and outpatient service sites.
Methods:
Retrospective cohort analysis of all patients aged 18-64 years who had been treated in a Swiss psychiatric services system in 2022.
Results:
Outpatient service utilization rates decreased statistically significantly with increasing distance (travel time by public transportation) between the place of residence and the responsible outpatient clinic. For inpatient utilization, the distance decay effects were much less strong and did not always reach a statistically significant level.
Conclusion:
In an easily accessible and economically reasonable psychiatric services system, inpatient and specialized services should be organized centrally, while general outpatient psychiatric services should be planned decentralized and close to the communities where people live.
Related Concept Videos
Community Based Intervention
Foundations of Community Mental Health Programs
Central to the success of community-based interventions is the...
Specialized Care Centers and Settings-I
Daycare centers
They provide several functions. Some facilities care for healthy newborns and children whose parents work, while others are medically focused and care for...
Schizophrenia
Barriers to Effective Communication II
Cultural barriers:
Differences in values, beliefs, religion, knowledge, and tradition can significantly impact communication. Awareness of nonverbal cues is critical, especially when conversing with a patient from a different culture. What appears appropriate in one culture may be inappropriate in another.
Semantic barriers:
As a result of their tendency to use...
Nonlinear Pharmacokinetics: Dependence of Elimination Half-Life and Dose Clearance
A study on guinea pigs examined the...
Psychological and Sociocultural Causes of Schizophrenia

