Veteran Characteristics Associated With Risk of 30-Day Inpatient Mental Health (IMH) Readmissions

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Health Services Research
• Veterans Health

Background:

• Repeated psychiatric inpatient admissions impact patient quality of life and signal care quality issues.
• Identifying readmission risk factors is crucial for improving patient care and reducing hospital readmissions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine socio-economic and clinical factors linked to 30-day readmission for Veterans Health Administration (VHA) inpatient mental health services.
• To identify patient characteristics associated with increased odds of psychiatric readmission.

Main Methods:

• Logistic regression analysis was conducted on a large cohort of 88,954 veterans.
• Analysis included the total cohort and four subgroups based on principal psychiatric diagnoses.

Main Results:

• Schizophrenia or psychotic disorder diagnoses, co-occurring physical and mental health comorbidities, and homelessness risk were associated with higher 30-day readmission odds.
• Non-Hispanic black veterans consistently demonstrated lower readmission rates.

Conclusions:

• Specific patient characteristics predict psychiatric readmission risk in the VHA system.
• Further research is needed to explore quality of care and identity-specific barriers contributing to readmissions.