Resumo

RIBEIRO, Mário Sérgio et al. Treatment dropout at a secondary mental health service. Trends Psychiatry Psychother. [online]. 2012, vol.34, n.4, pp.207-214. ISSN 2237-6089.  https://doi.org/10.1590/S2237-60892012000400006.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate mental health dropout rates in secondary care and to identify possible associations between this variable and social, demographic, psychopathologic, and health care process-related variables. METHOD: This prospective, observational study included 994 patients referred to a secondary service by four primary care units and evaluated by a specialist mental health team between 2004 and 2008. The dependent variable was treatment dropout. Bivariate analyses investigated possible associations between treatment dropout and 57 independent variables. RESULTS: The overall dropout rate from specialist mental health treatment was relatively low (mean = 25.6%). Only four independent variables were associated with dropout: one socioeconomic, two psychopathological, and one health care process variable. All associations were marginally significant (p < 0.1). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that family members, patients, and health care professionals are well engaged in this mental health care system based on a model of primary care. The use of this mental health model of care should be extended to other regions of our country.

Palavras-chave : Patient dropouts; mental health; secondary health care; quality of health care.

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