The British Journal of Psychiatry 145: 533-537 (1984)
© 1984 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
A comparative evaluation of two psychiatric day hospitals
D Milne
Two psychiatric day hospitals were evaluated in terms of the outcomes after
three months' attendance by patients. Multiple measures were made using
questionnaires, naturalistic observation, and ratings at the start and end
of this period, for a total of 83 patients. The results indicated that
although both day hospitals were serving similar patient samples, only one
was achieving significant clinical improvements; one plausible explanation
for the findings was the differences between their respective programmes.
The major implication of the result is the need for evaluation of both the
outcome obtained by patients following attendance and the therapeutic
process by which these outcomes are achieved.