An approach to assessing mental health service needs.

An evaluative survey of a sample of patients in Texas mental hospitals is reported and the implications of the findings for mental health programs at the community level discussed. On the basis of an extensive battery of examinations and interviews, supplemented by review of patient records, the majority of the patients were judged to be inappropriately placed in a mental hospital, and 25 percent were judged not to need any form of institutionalized care. The survey is evaluated in terms of unit costs and usefulness of the data generated, and suggestions are offered for increasing the efficiency of such surveys.