Effectiveness of geropsychiatric home treatment concerning parameters of physical health: matched-pair study

BACKGROUND: There is evidence of the effectiveness of multi-professional home treatment models with regards to improving mental health for elderly patients with mental illness. However, there is a lack of studies examining the efficacy with regard to physical health. AIMS: To explore the effectiveness of geropsychiatric home treatment for elderly patients with mental illness with regards to improving physical health by assessing the need of physical treatment. METHOD: A 1-year retrospective matched-pair cohort study was conducted in four regions of Austria. We compared 91 patients with a broad spectrum of mental disorders in geropsychiatric home treatment by 1:2 matching to 182 patients in treatment as usual regarding number of contacts with health services, prescriptions, hospital discharges and length of hospital stay. RESULTS: Patients in geropsychiatric home treatment showed significantly lower numbers of consultations with general practitioners (P < 0.001) and specialists (internal medicine, P = 0.022; psychiatry, P < 0.001), and lower numbers of prescriptions (medical drugs except psychotropic drugs, P < 0.001; psychotropic drugs, P < 0.004) compared with patients in treatment as usual. However, there was no significant difference in the number of hospital discharges and length of hospital stays. CONCLUSIONS: Geropsychiatric home treatment has a positive effect on mental and physical parameters, which is discussed in the context of stress reduction.