Taylor Laura, Kaminer Debra, Hardy Anneli
a Department of Psychology , University of Cape Town , Rondebosch , 7700 , South Africa.
J Child Adolesc Ment Health. 2011 Dec;23(2):155-64. doi: 10.2989/17280583.2011.634553.
Premature termination of treatment amongst children and families attending mental health services is a significant problem for both outcomes research and clinical practice in South Africa and elsewhere. This study investigated factors that are associated with premature termination of treatment at a public service child and family clinic in Cape Town.
A retrospective archival analysis of clinic files from 2002-2009 was conducted. Administrative, child and family factors, and type of treatment were explored as risk factors for premature termination.
A single-parent household and the presence of a child or oppositional defiant disorder were risk factors for premature termination of treatment, while the presence of a maternal psychiatric diagnosis was associated with a lower likelihood of terminating treatment prematurely. Conducting a scholastic assessment with the child was associated with a lower risk of premature termination, while there was a trend towards a higher risk of premature termination when individual child therapy was the recommended treatment.
This study offers recommendations for how these findings could assist South African clinicians to enhance client retention in child and family mental health services, and suggestions for future research.
在南非及其他地区，接受心理健康服务的儿童和家庭过早终止治疗对于疗效研究和临床实践而言都是一个重大问题。本研究调查了开普敦一家公共服务儿童与家庭诊所中与过早终止治疗相关的因素。
对2002年至2009年的诊所档案进行回顾性存档分析。将行政、儿童及家庭因素以及治疗类型作为过早终止治疗的风险因素进行探究。
单亲家庭以及孩子患有对立违抗性障碍是治疗过早终止的风险因素，而母亲患有精神疾病诊断则与过早终止治疗的可能性较低相关。对孩子进行学业评估与过早终止治疗的风险较低相关，而当推荐的治疗是儿童个体治疗时，存在过早终止治疗风险较高的趋势。
本研究针对这些发现如何帮助南非临床医生提高儿童和家庭心理健康服务中的客户留存率提供了建议，并为未来研究提出了建议。
