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Biomedical subjects

T Ruud

Publications and source records attributed to T Ruud.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

The user perspective: respected or rejected in mental health care?

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which patient views influence treatment planning by measuring the level of agreement between patients and health workers regarding patient needs as well as the impact of patient wishes on decision making when viewpoints conflict. Data on patient characteristics and needs were collected for a sample of 1080 patients within Norwegian mental health care using patient interviews and health worker ratings. Results of the assessment were then reviewed by multidisciplinary treatment teams responsible for making decisions regarding patient needs for services. On average, patients, health workers, and teams identified 4.3 (SD = 4.2), 9.3 (SD = 5.5), and 10.3 (SD = 5.7), respectively, of 40 possible needs per patient. In cases where patient and health workers disagreed on the presence of a need, the teams tended to concur with the health worker. Interestingly, health care workers and teams were far more inclined than their patients to identify needs related to professional monitoring and follow-up. Results may indicate that contemporary tenets in mental health care regarding user involvement and autonomy are not sufficiently emphasized in practice.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

[Quality of life, loneliness and social contacts among persons with long-term mental illness].

Chronic long-term patients who were residents in psychiatric nursing homes at a given point in time were traced six years later. Over this period, there had been deep cuts in the number of psychiatric beds in the county in question; we wanted to assess how the patients now perceived their quality of life. All 107 patients were traced; of the 75 who were still alive, 74 took part in the study and were visited at their place of residence. 42 patients, mean age 56.9 years, were able to respond to personal questions regarding social contact, loneliness and quality of life. Health care providers were the most important persons in the patients' networks. Most patients reported a satisfactory quality of life; those who lived outside institutions (N = 21) tended to be more satisfied than those in residential care, they were more socially active and had better contact with their families. The variables loneliness, satisfaction with neighbourhood and leisure activities explained 63% of the variance in quality of life.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Costs of services for schizophrenic patients in Norway.

Estimates of the direct costs of mental health services for patients with schizophrenia are made from a registration of all patients seen during a period of 4 weeks in all treatment units serving 6 catchment areas. The estimates were based on unit costs. The total direct costs of mental health services for schizophrenic patients in Norway were estimated to be NOK 1158 million (US$ 164 million). In total, 74.3% of the costs are for long-term in-patient care, 19.7% are for acute and intermediate length in-patient care, and 6.0% are for out-patient and day care. The average costs of schizophrenic patients with a GAF score of 1-20 are almost twice those of patients with a GAF score of 21-40, and more than three times those of patients with a GAF score of 41-60.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1999

Quality of life, loneliness, and social contact among long-term psychiatric patients.

OBJECTIVE: Long-term patients who resided in county-operated psychiatric nursing homes in a county in Norway as of November 15, 1989, were visited by researchers in 1996 to assess how they perceived their living situations and how they had adjusted to a large reduction in county psychiatric beds during the six-year period. METHODS: Of 107 patients identified in 1989, a total of 75 were still alive in 1995. Seventy-four took part in the study and were visited at their place of residence. Thirty patients were living in general nursing homes, 23 patients remained in the psychiatric nursing homes, and 21 patients lived outside of institutions, in a personal residence. The quality of the patients' contact with others was rated by health care providers who were familiar with the patients. Forty-two patients, with a mean age of 56.9 years, responded to personal questions about their life situation, loneliness, and quality of life. RESULTS: Health care providers constituted the patients' most important network. Patients outside of institutions were the most socially active and had the most satisfying contact with their families. Patients reported a satisfactory quality of life, and those who lived outside institutions tended to be most satisfied. The variables of loneliness, satisfaction with neighborhood, and leisure time activities explained 63 percent of the variance in patients' subjective well-being. CONCLUSIONS: Most long-term patients who had moved out of psychiatric institutions were satisfied with their living situation and reported a relatively high quality of life.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

Chronic patients in psychiatric institutions: psychopathology, level of functioning and need for care.

A total of 107 chronic in-patients in a catchment area of 106,000 inhabitants were rated for psychopathology on the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale expanded version (BPRS-E), for level of functioning on the Rehabilitation Evaluation Hall And Baker (REHAB), and for geriatric problems on the Geriatric Rating Scale (GRS). The results showed low levels of severe psychopathology and low to moderate levels of functioning, indicating that the main obstacle to community placement was the lack of functioning. Global assessment by ward nurses with regard to the future level of care needed divided the patients into three categories: 40 patients in need of a psychiatric nursing home, 30 patients in need of a general nursing home, and 37 patients who could potentially be discharged to apartments with community support. This study indicates that the REHAB may help to identify patients who are potential candidates for community placement, while the BPRS-E may help to identify patients who are still in need of care in a psychiatric institution.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1998

The fate of chronic in-patients after closure of psychiatric nursing homes in Norway: a personal follow-up 6 years later.

We evaluated all 107 chronic in-patients in a catchment area before and 6 years after a planned reduction in the number of psychiatric institution beds was implemented. At follow-up, 32 of the patients had died. One had probably committed suicide, while the others were elderly people who had died of natural causes. In the remaining patients the level of functioning was low, and below that which could be deduced from their level of symptoms, which was also low. The majority of the patients still lived in institutions, mostly in general nursing homes. Among those who had moved out, there were non-significant trends towards a reduction in symptoms and an increase in functioning. In general, the patients were satisfied with their new accommodation. Most of them needed extensive help and support to establish an acceptable standard of living in the community.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Block training in group analysis: the Norwegian program.

Block training in group psychotherapy makes it possible to train professionals living far apart and to import conductors to an area or country lacking sufficient expertise. This article reports experience with such a training program in Norway. Training is given in blocks of 5 weekends a year, each weekend containing small group therapy, supervision, theory courses, lectures, and large group experiences. The participants were questioned about their personal and professional gains from the training. These findings and the effect of the program in relation to stated goals are discussed.

Adult↗