Factors Affecting Length of Stay of Patients in a General Psychiatric Hospital in Bahrain: A Retrospective Study

Length of stay (LOS) in a psychiatric facility can be used as a measurement of the quality of healthcare. Prolonged stays impact the quality of life of psychiatric patients as well as have a huge burden on healthcare expenditures.

A retrospective study targeting 153 patients admitted to a general adult ward in a psychiatric hospital in Bahrain, with the final diagnosis based on ICD-10 criteria. The collected data was analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 26 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY).

The median LOS was 22 days. LOS among schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder as well as bipolar affective disorder was significantly longer than other groups. There was no significant difference among groups in terms of gender, age, marital status, social class, and alcohol or substance abuse. The presence of extrapyramidal side effects, history of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and the use of restraints during admission were associated with longer LOS. A higher number of previous admissions and number of current medications given during admission in the psychiatric hospital predicted a longer stay in the hospital.

Future studies should focus on the effect of better treatment options as well as occupational rehabilitation in ensuring better outcomes for inpatients as well as shorter stays in a psychiatric hospital.