PubMed Health⌕ Search
Home/Archive/PubMed

PubMed · 10686238

The release bandwagon.

H A Davidson
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

The essay below, published in the Dr. Whatsisname column in the June 1959 issue of Mental Hospitals, takes a wry look at the wholesale discharge of patients from mental hospitals following the introduction of the new drugs. (See "The New Drugs (Chlorpromazine & Reserpine): Administrative Aspects" on page 327 and Dr. Robert Cancro's commentary and analysis on page 333.) The Dr. Whatsisname column appeared regularly in the journal for almost 14 years before it was discontinued in 1970 and the identity of its author formally revealed: Henry A. Davidson, M.D., a hospital administrator in New Jersey. Washington artist Ralph Robinson drew the cartoons.

Explore related subjects

DeinstitutionalizationHistory, 20th CenturyHospitals, PsychiatricHumansMental DisordersSocial WorkUnited StatesBiographySeminal ArticleHistorical ArticleJournal Article

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

H A Davidson. 2000. The release bandwagon.. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.51.3.332

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related citations

PubMed2006

Service use and costs of supporting the most socially disabled patients in a hospital reprovision programme. A two-hospital comparison.

BACKGROUND: The UK, in common with other Western countries, has seen a marked reduction in the number of long-stay hospital beds over the past few decades and most asylums have been closed. Whilst hospital closure and discharge programmes differ, a common characteristic is likely to be that those patients who are "difficult-to-place" in the community are amongst the last to be discharged. This paper compares service use and costs of difficult-to-place patients from two UK hospitals (Friern and Warley) and identifies predictors of cost. One of these hospitals (Warley) provided a more intensive programme of rehabilitation. METHOD: The study included 84 patients (Friern 63, Warley 21). Patient characteristics prior to discharge were recorded. Service use was measured and costs calculated for the year following discharge. Comparisons were made between the Warley and Friern groups and cost predictors were identified using multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: Post-discharge accommodation, in-patient and outpatient costs were substantially higher for the Friern group, whilst the Warley group had higher day care costs. The total mean costs were pound 13,432 higher for the Friern group. However, non-accommodation costs were substantially higher for the Warley group. Patients with more social skills had higher non-accommodation costs. Higher total costs were associated with more self-care skills, fewer domestic skills and younger age. Longer length of stay prior to discharge was associated with higher non-accommodation and total costs. CONCLUSIONS: The costs of care following discharge differed substantially between these two groups. This is partly a supply effect given the different strategies for caring for these difficult-to-place patients. In common with other studies, patient characteristics can explain some of the differences in future costs.

Deinstitutionalization↗
PubMed2006

Community reentry: perceptions of people with substance use problems returning home from New York City jails.

Each year about 100,000 people return to New York City communities from municipal jails. Although about four-fifths report drug or alcohol problems, few have received any formal drug treatment while in jail. Researchers and practitioners have identified a number of policies related to corrections, income, housing, and drug treatment that may be harmful to the successful reintegration of people leaving jail. In order to explore the challenges to successful community reentry, six focus groups and one in-depth interview were conducted with 37 men and women who had been released from jail or prison in the last 12 months. Participants were asked to describe their experiences prior to and immediately following release from jail. Findings suggest that many people leaving jail are not prepared for release and, upon release, face a myriad of obstacles to becoming healthy, productive members of their communities. We discuss the implications of these findings for programs and policies that promote community reintegration of individuals returning from correctional facilities.

Deinstitutionalization↗