The effect of an occupational therapy mental health day treatment centre on the use of inpatient services in the Western Cape, South Africa.

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine whether attendance at an occupational therapy-led day treatment centre for mental health care users affects the use of inpatient services in South Africa. Methods: A retrospective pre-test/post-test quasi-experimental study design was used to compare admissions and days spent in hospital during the 24 months before and after attendance at the centre, using the hospital's electronic records. Total population sampling yielded data for 44 mental health care users who made first contact with the service between July 2009 and June 2010. Data were compared using the Kruskal-Wallis test, Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test and Mann-Whitney U test. Results: There was a significant decrease in the number of admissions (z = -4.093, p = 0.00) and the number of days spent in hospital (z = -4.730, p = 0.00). Participants were admitted to psychiatric care 33 times less in the 24 months' post-intervention, indicating a medium effect (r = 0.436). They also spend 2569 days less in hospital, indicating a large effect (r = 0.504). Conclusion: The findings suggest that an occupational therapy-led day treatment centre could be effective in reducing the use of inpatient mental health services in South Africa. Implications for Rehabilitation Attendance at an occupational therapy-led community day treatment centre decreases the number of admissions and number of days spent in hospital and is therefore beneficial to mental health care users and service providers. The study indicates that the successful implementation of a community day treatment centre for mental health care users on the grounds of a tertiary hospital by utilising existing resources is possible.