Citation

Schoenwald SK, Ward DM, Henggeler SW, Rowland MD. Ment. Health Serv. Res. 2000; 2(1): 3-12.

Affiliation

Family Services Research Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston 29425, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2000, Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

11254068

Abstract

Hospitalization and out-of-home placement data for 113 youth participating in a randomized trial comparing home-based multisystemic therapy (MST; n = 57) with hospitalization (n = 56) for psychiatric crisis stabilization were analyzed following the completion of MST treatment--approximately 4 months post approval for emergency psychiatric hospitalization. Analyses showed that MST prevented any hospitalization for 57% of the participants in the MST condition and reduced the overall number of days hospitalized by 72%. Importantly, the reduction in use and length of hospitalization was not offset by increased use of other placement options, as MST reduced days in other out-of-home placements by 49%. The cost implications for the viability of MST as an alternative to hospitalization for youth presenting psychiatric emergencies are discussed.

Language: en