Does deinstitutionalization increase suicide?

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

(1) To test whether public psychiatric bed reduction may increase suicide rates; (2) to investigate whether the supply of private hospital psychiatric beds-separately for not-for-profit and for-profit-can substitute for public bed reduction without increasing suicides; and (3) to examine whether the level of community mental health resources moderates the relationship between public bed reduction and suicide rates.

Methods

We examined state-level variation in suicide rates in relation to psychiatric beds and community mental health spending in the United States for the years 1982-1998. We categorize psychiatric beds separately for public, not-for-profit, and for-profit hospitals.

Principal findings

Reduced public psychiatric bed supply was found to increase

SUBMITTER: Yoon J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2739034 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature