Friedman M J, West A N
Am J Psychiatry. 1987 Mar;144(3):355-7. doi: 10.1176/ajp.144.3.355.
The authors conducted a study of treatment utilization and outcome on a sample of 116 psychiatric outpatients at a Veterans Administration (VA) hospital. Utilization and outcome measures were obtained at a follow-up interview 18 months after a baseline assessment. Comparisons between patients with high and low rates of utilization revealed negligible relationships between use of services and severity of illness, clinical change, or demographics. However, previous use of VA outpatient and inpatient psychiatric services and VA psychiatric disability rating predicted utilization of psychiatric care during the study. The authors conclude that use of VA outpatient psychiatric care may reflect patients' help-seeking history more than their current clinical need.
作者对一家退伍军人管理局（VA）医院的116名精神科门诊患者样本进行了治疗利用情况及结果的研究。在基线评估18个月后的随访访谈中获取了利用情况和结果指标。对高利用率和低利用率患者之间的比较显示，服务使用与疾病严重程度、临床变化或人口统计学特征之间的关系微不足道。然而，先前使用VA门诊和住院精神科服务以及VA精神科残疾评定可预测研究期间的精神科护理利用情况。作者得出结论，VA门诊精神科护理的使用可能更多地反映了患者的求助历史，而非他们当前的临床需求。
