Socio-Ecological Factors That Influence Readmission on Dual Diagnosed Patients

Abstract

By Ashley Thompson, Social Work

Advisor: Anjanette Wells

Presentation ID: 181

Abstract: There are a variety of socio-ecological factors that play into recidivism on an inpatient unit. "Dually diagnosed patients pose a particular challenge to psychiatric treatment, since they tend to have a more chronic course of illness, higher rates of relapse and rehospitalization, lower rates of treatment completion, and more complicated service needs than those with substance use problems only," (Strahler, 2009). The goal for recovery programming is to focus on the person's recovery, and not the mental illness. Coping skills, goal setting in treatment, and using a recovery-oriented approach when working with patients on the unit (Koval, 2016). This research focuses on a sample of recidivism data that tells the agency information about what brought patients back to the IPU. The research is utilizing secondary data from Community Mental Health Center's Inpatient Unit. The research uses purposive method of sampling and aims to explore the impact of socio-ecological factors with samples that consist of patient demographics or socio-ecological factors that influence recidivism. Preliminary results indicate that homelessness is a strong factor among dually diagnosed patients being re-admitted within 30-90 days to the IPU. The limitations to this study is the data collected is purely based off of secondary analysis, so access to other sources were limited and/or deemed unethical for this study.