RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Housing situation and healthcare for patients in a psychiatric centre in Berlin, Germany: a cross-sectional patient survey
JF BMJ Open
JO BMJ Open
FD British Medical Journal Publishing Group
SP e032576
DO 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-032576
VO 9
IS 12
A1 Schreiter, Stefanie
A1 Heidrich, Sascha
A1 Zulauf, Jamie
A1 Saathoff, Ute
A1 Brückner, Anne
A1 Majic, Tomislav
A1 Rössler, Wulf
A1 Schouler-Ocak, Meryam
A1 Krausz, Michael R
A1 Bermpohl, Felix
A1 Bäuml, Josef
A1 Gutwinski, Stefan
YR 2019
UL http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/12/e032576.abstract
AB Objective To determine the housing situation among people seeking psychiatric treatment in relation to morbidity and service utilisation.Design Cross-sectional patient survey.Setting Psychiatric centre with a defined catchment area in Berlin, Germany, March–September 2016.Participants 540 psychiatric inpatients including day clinics (43.2% of all admitted patients in the study period (n=1251)).Main outcome measures Housing status 30 days prior the interview as well as influencing variables including service use, psychiatric morbidity and sociodemographic variables.Results In our survey, 327 participants (68.7%) currently rented or owned an own apartment; 62 (13.0%) reported to be homeless (living on the street or in shelters for homeless or refugees); 87 (18.3%) were accommodated in sociotherapeutic facilities. Participants without an own apartment were more likely to be male and younger and to have a lower level of education. Homeless participants were diagnosed with a substance use disorder significantly more often (74.2%). Psychotic disorders were the highest among homeless participants (29.0%). Concerning service use, we did neither find a lower utilisation of ambulatory services nor a higher utilisation of hospital-based care among homeless participants.Conclusions Our findings underline the need for effective housing for people with mental illness. Despite many sociotherapeutic facilities, a concerning number of people with mental illness is living in homelessness. Especially early interventions addressing substance use might prevent future homelessness.