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Table 1 Characteristics of patients (N = 299)

From: Profiles of quality of life among patients using emergency departments for mental health reasons

 

Mean

SD.

Quality of life (QoL, /7) a

4.55

1.06

 

 N

%

Sociodemographic characteristics (measured for the 12 months preceding interviews)

Sex

  

 Women

165

55.18

 Men

134

44.82

Age

  

 16–29 years

92

30.77

 30–49 years

117

39.13

 50 + years

90

30.10

Education

  

 High school or less

130

43.48

 Post-secondary education

169

56.52

Employment status

  

 Unemployed or retired b

169

56.52

 Worker or student

130

43.48

Household income (Canadian dollars/year)

  

 CAD$ 0–19,999

141

47.16

 CAD$ 20–39,999

89

29.77

 CAD$ 40,000+

69

23.07

Type of housing

  

 Private

60

20.07

 Rented

173

57.86

 Supervised c

66

22.07

Stigma d

  

 High

149

49.83

 Low

150

50.17

Clinical characteristics (measured for the 12 months preceding interviews)

Serious mental disorders (MD) e

133

44.48

Personality disorders e

127

42.47

Common MD e

169

56.52

Substance-related disorders (SRD) e

175

58.53

Suicidal behaviors (suicide ideation/attempt)

161

53.85

Good perceived mental/physical health conditions (score 7+/10)

95

31.77

Chronic physical illnesses f

136

45.48

Service use characteristics (measured for the 12 months preceding interviews, or other as specified)

Very good to excellent knowledge of mental health (MH) services (including addiction services, score 3+/4)

161

53.85

Frequent outpatient MH service use (30+) g

153

51.17

Frequent emergency department (ED) use (4+) for MH reasons

182

60.86

Recurrent frequent ED use (8+) (measured for the preceding 13–36 months) for MH reasons

117

39.13

Hospitalization for MH reasons

168

56.19

Adequacy of care (4–5/5) h

187

62.54

 

Mean

SD.

Satisfaction with global service use i

3.96

0.76

  1. a QoL: score rating from 1 to 7, higher score = better quality of life.
  2. b The sample was too small to separate unemployed from retired.
  3. c Supervised housing included different types of housing such as group homes, residential care, and supported apartments.
  4. d Patients were asked this question in the survey: “Most people in my community treat a person with a MD or a SRD in the same manner as they would treat any other person”. Please tell me if you: (1) totally disagree, (2) somewhat disagree, (3) somewhat agree, (4) agree, or (5) totally agree with this statement. High stigma related to responses 1 and 2, medium stigma to response 3, and low stigma to responses 4 and 5. This question is based on the Canadian community health survey (CCHS).
  5. e Patients may have more than one MD. Based on medical records, serious MD included: schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders, and bipolar disorders; common MD: anxiety, depressive, and adjustment disorders, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder; SRD: alcohol- or drug-related disorders (use, induced, intoxication and withdrawal). Personality disorders and SRD were also based on medical records, but SRD were also measured with standardized scales (see the Methods section, and Appendix 1).
  6. f Based on medical records, chronic physical illnesses included: chronic pulmonary disease, cardiac arrhythmia, tumor with or without metastasis, renal disease, fluid electrolyte disorder, myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, metastatic cancer, dementia, stroke, neurological disorder, liver disease, pulmonary circulation disorder, coagulopathy, weight loss, paralysis, AIDS/HIV (see Appendix 1).
  7. g Outpatient services included use of family doctors, general practitioners (GP) from walk-in clinics, community healthcare centers (mostly psychosocial services), and psychologists in private practice, psychiatric services including assertive community treatment or intensive case management programs, addiction rehabilitation centers, and community-based organizations (e.g., crisis or suicide prevention centers).
  8. h Patients were asked if “services outside of the ED respond to their needs”. They could respond: (1) I totally disagree, (2) I somewhat disagree, (3) I somewhat agree, (4) I agree, and (5) I totally agree. High adequacy of care corresponded to answers 4 and 5.
  9. i For each service used, patients were asked to express their level of satisfaction, measured on a 5-point scale. The mean level of satisfaction with service use per patient was considered. A higher score indicated greater satisfaction with services.
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Health and Quality of Life Outcomes

ISSN: 1477-7525

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