Pattern of health service utilization and predictors of readmission after a first admission for psychosis: a 2-year follow-up study.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the pattern of health service utilization over 2 years following a first admission for psychosis and the baseline characteristics predicting readmission.

METHOD

Patients included in a cohort of first-admitted subjects with psychosis (n = 84) were assessed at the end of a 2-year follow-up using multiple sources of information.

RESULTS

At the end of the follow-up, one of three subjects had no contact with any mental health professional, and 38% of subjects had no contact with a psychiatrist. Half of the patients were readmitted over the 2-year follow-up. The baseline characteristics independently predicting psychiatric readmission were a high number of helping contacts before first admission and persistence of psychotic symptoms at discharge.

CONCLUSION

Decreasing the frequency of readmission in the early course of psychosis is a public health priority. Development of psychotherapeutic programs for subjects with early psychosis who have enduring psychotic symptoms at first discharge should be promoted.