Abstract

CAYCEDO B, Martha L.; HERRERA, Sandra  and  OFFIR JIMENEZ, Karim. Description of the risk factors for relapse in patients diagnosed with severe mental disorders. Rev. Cienc. Salud [online]. 2011, vol.9, n.2, pp.141-158. ISSN 1692-7273.

Objective: The objective of this paper is to describe the population served in mental health institutions for mental illness relapse, and the process of identifying risk factors in relapsing patients diagnosed with severe mental illness. To this end a descriptive exploratory multicenter, multistage epidemiological study was carried out in mental health institutions of the Order of San Juan de Dios Hospital (OHSJD) with hospitalized relapsing patients with a diagnosis of severe mental disorder. This study comes from a working network of Psychology professionals in the OHSJD nationwide. Materials and methods: The population sample was of 1005 patients diagnosed with severe mental disorders, who had presented relapse during the last year. First, the characterization of the general population was conducted; then, it was narrowed down to the centers, taking into account similarities and differences found according to the clinical and demographic variables. Results: Major risk factors for relapse found in patients diagnosed with severe mental disorders were: having between 38 and 58 years of age, being female, single, graduates, unemployed, with a prevalence of bipolar affective disorder diagnosis, number of hospitalizations between 2 and 10, number of drugs at the time of leaving hospital 2 to 6, with severe difficulties relating with others and difficulties in adherence to treatment. The need for a caregiver was also found, as well as a limited number of received psychological interventions. How the system of beliefs affects the disease and the poor adherence to treatment was identified. Conclusions: These results indicate the requirement of a design of team intervention strategies, ranging from the assessment team (home), definition of therapeutic action plans (for) and the posthospitalizacion (egress) following. There is a poor support network and limited adherence to comprehensive treatment.

Keywords : Recurrence; hospitalization; mental disorders.

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