An unholy alliance: substance abuse and social exclusion among assertive outreach patients.

Full Abstract

OBJECTIVE:
To investigate the relationship between social exclusion and outcomes of mentally ill patients with substance abuse problems receiving assertive outreach treatment in London.

METHOD:
Analysis was conducted on data on 580 patients from the 'Pan-London Assertive Outreach Study (PLAO)'. Data were collected using clinician-rated scales of alcohol and drug abuse in the last 6 months before baseline. Outcomes - hospitalization and compulsory hospitalization- were assessed over a 9-month follow-up period.

RESULTS:
The analysis identified a group of patients with substance abuse who suffer from social exclusion and forensic problems (n = 77, 15.8%), and had poorer outcomes than the rest of the patients in terms of hospitalization (52% vs. 36% respectively) and compulsory (39% vs. 22% respectively) hospitalization.

CONCLUSION:
There is a distinct group of patients whose treatment requires social inclusion and forensic expertise. Future research into which model of service is suitable for these patients and in what setting is recommended.

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Author information

Author/s: Fakhoury, W K H (WK); Priebe, S (S); PLAO Study Group;

Affiliation: Unit for Social and Community Psychiatry, Barts and The London School of Medicine, Queen Mary, University of London, London, UK. w.fakhoury(-atsign-)qmul.ac.uk

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica (Acta Psychiatr Scand), published in Denmark. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-Aug; vol 114 (issue 2) : pp 124-31

Dates: Created 2006/07/13; Completed 2006/10/03; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 16836600, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult
Catchment Area (Health)
Community Mental Health Services - utilization
Community-Institutional Relations
Demography
England - epidemiology
Female

Hospitalization - statistics & numerical data
Hospitals, Psychiatric
Humans
Male
Prevalence
Questionnaires
Substance-Related Disorders - epidemiology; rehabilitation

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