Facilitating psychiatric patient follow-up: a study of transfer attrition

Tested the hypothesis that two brief pre-discharge interventions would improve transfer success for psychiatric inpatients discharged to an outpatient community aftercare program. Seventy-four inpatients viewed one of three videotapes designed to: (1) provide programmatic information about follow-up clinics; (2) shape accurate expectations for outpatient therapy; or (3) provide non-specific emphasis to the importance of aftercare. A baseline group also was employed. As hypothesized, posttest questionnaires showed that experimental Ss had significantly more knowledge of the follow-up program and greater congruence of therapy expectations. A generalized behavioral effect also occurred; the two experimental groups had a higher rate of transfer success (82%) than the controls (59%). No differences in therapy persistence were observed. These findings suggest that mental health centers might improve transfer success by providing inpatients with detailed information about community aftercare programs.