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Mental health care in Southern Italy: application of case–control methodology for the evaluation of the impact of the 1978 psychiatric reform

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Paola Bollini ,
Giovanni Muscettola ,
Antonella Piazza ,
Maurizio Puca  and
Gianni Tognoni
Paola Bollini*
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Clinical Pharmacology, Istiuto di Ricerche Farmacologiche ‘Mario Negri’, Milan
Giovanni Muscettola
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, II Medical School, University of Naples, Italy
Antonella Piazza
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Clinical Pharmacology, Istiuto di Ricerche Farmacologiche ‘Mario Negri’, Milan
Maurizio Puca
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, II Medical School, University of Naples, Italy
Gianni Tognoni
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Clinical Pharmacology, Istiuto di Ricerche Farmacologiche ‘Mario Negri’, Milan
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr Paola Bollini, Laboratory of Clinical Pharmacology, Insituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche ‘M. Negri’, Via Eritrea 62, 20157 Milan, Italy
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Synopsis

A survey to analyse patients' characteristics and the care delivered to them was conducted in several psychiatric facilities, covering the whole range of care offered in the public sector in two regions of Southern Italy. A case–control method of analysis was chosen, and the relative risk estimates (RR), together with their 95% confidence intervals (CI), of being in custodial facilities were computed, comparing patients treated in custodial institutions (‘cases’) with those in community-based services (‘controls’) in respect of social and clinical vairables. Factors more stongly associated with custodial treatment were: illiteracy (RR = 2·4), unmarried status (RR =2·4), a history of prolonged illness (RR = 7·6), organic diagnosis (RR = 2·6), previous custodial treatment (RR = 3·9), and expected poor social functioning (RR =2·4). The suitability and advantages of the case–control method of analysis in the field of psychiatric care evaluation are discussed.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 16 , Issue 3 , August 1986 , pp. 701 - 707
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

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