Psychiatric Patients’ Readmission

Research Problem

Risk factors associated with psychiatric readmission may be based on ethnic groups, socioeconomic status, assessment timing, and the category of diagnostics. This study will establish the extent to which patients’ socioeconomic characteristics influence psychiatric patient readmission.

Problem Statement

A quarter of the United States’ population has a diagnosable disorder related to mental health, with 60% categorized as moderate and severe (Morris, Ghose, Williams, Brown., & Khan, 2018). In fact, by the year 2020, disorders in psychiatry are expected to be the second cause of disability in the world. Based on this statistic, healthcare infrastructure reduced the available long and short term psychiatry services due to an increase in the number of patients in need of health services (Morris et al., 2018). This reduction in the inpatient stay period led to an increase in readmission cases. For instance, between September 2015 and August 2016, it was observed that 12% of all the psychiatry patients were readmitted (Morris et al., 2017). In addition, reports show that 15% of beneficiaries of Medicare who were discharged from health facilities in 2011 were re-admitted within 30 days (Lorine et al., 2015).

Studies in the past have highlighted risk factors linked to psychiatric readmission. However, these factors vary in regards to ethnic groups, socioeconomic status, assessment timing and even the category of diagnostics. Amid these variations, some common factors observed included schizophrenia diagnosis, more severe symptoms, self-care impairment, use of restraints when hospitalized, previous admissions, the intoxication of alcohol, and posing a danger to others during initial admission (Lorine et al., 2015). It is evident that the readmission of patients affects the quality of life for the psychiatric patient. Hence, conducting a study on characteristics that relate to readmission might improve management programs. Therefore, this study will seek to establish the extent to which patients’ socioeconomic characteristics influence readmission of psychiatric patients

Research Question

To what extent do the patients’ socioeconomic characteristics influence readmission of psychiatric patients?

Research Design

The study proposes quantitative research-Non-experimental research.