[Social integration of patients of a long-term institution]

With a mean duration of hospitalisation of 28 years the patients of a long-term hospital had on the average only 2.6 visits from outside in one year. Above all the frequency of visits depended on the age, the duration of illness, the distance of the hospital to the homes of the patients and on communication inhibiting symptoms. In a three years follow-up the social integration of patients could be improved by specific rehabilitative treatment. Contacts to persons from outside the hospital and activities inside increased significantly. Improvement was not possible for patients whose homes were very far away and who had communication inhibiting symptoms at the outset of the follow-up.