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Readmissions for treatment for alcoholism
The New Zealand Medical Journal
|June 26, 1985
Summary
Alcoholism treatment readmission histories show diverse outcomes. Most patients have varied treatment durations and readmission rates, highlighting the need for personalized alcoholism care strategies.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Addiction Medicine
- Public Health
Background:
- Rising rates of alcoholism admissions and readmissions necessitate understanding patient trajectories.
- Inpatient psychiatric treatment is a common intervention for alcoholism.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze readmission histories of individuals with alcoholism undergoing inpatient psychiatric treatment.
- To identify patterns and diversity in treatment duration and readmission rates among alcoholics.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study of four cohorts of alcoholics admitted between 1967-1979.
- Tracking inpatient treatment duration and alcohol-related readmissions over twelve years for the first cohort.
Main Results:
- Alcoholism treatment durations and readmission rates exhibit highly skewed distributions.
- On average, alcoholics spent 254 days in treatment with 2.14 readmissions, but 50% stayed <92 days and 45.6% had no readmissions.
Conclusions:
- Significant diversity exists in alcoholism patient readmission histories.
- Inpatient alcoholism treatment policies must acknowledge and adapt to this heterogeneity.