Psychiatry Research EG

Backgrounds Duration of hospitalization (DOH) and length of stay in psychiatric hospitals are important factors affecting psychiatric patients and their families, in addition to their impact on the healthcare system policy and budget. Objectives The aims of this study were to identify the sociodemographic and clinical factors implicated in determining DOH and to study the effect of global functioning and insight on length of stay in psychiatric hospitals. Patients and methods A total of 129 inpatients diagnosed with affective and nonaffective psychoses were recruited from Minia Psychiatry Hospital. Data regarding their demographic and clinical manifestations were collected, including previous and current admissions. Their severity of illness was assessed with Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, the level of initial functioning was evaluated by Clinical Global Impression Scale, and the details of their insight were measured by Scale to assess Unawareness of Mental Disorder. Results Female participants tended to have longer DOH than males, whereas males tended to have higher number of previous hospitalizations than females. Divorced and single patients had significantly longer DOH than married patients. DOH of current admission was found to increase with increasing severity of mental illness, decreased awareness of mental disorders, deceased awareness of achieved effects of medications, and decreased awareness of social consequences of mental illness. Number of hospitalizations was found to significantly increase with younger age at onset, longer duration of illness, higher number of previous episodes, whereas it was found to decrease with higher total number of received electroconvulsive therapies. Conclusion Sex and marital status have an effect on DOH. Increased severity of mental illness and disturbance of insight increase DOH and so does the initial decrease in global functioning. Keywords: duration of hospitalization, global functioning, insight, psychosis