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First-contact patients with a community mental health service in rural Greece: A 3-year prospective study of treatment attendance and its co-relations

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  • Aikaterini Grammeniati
  • Alexandra Mantziou
  • Vaios Peritogiannis

Abstract

Background: Treatment continuation is essential for the optimal management of patients with mental disorders in the community, but treatment and outcome are often undermined by the high rates of service disengagement and treatment non-adherence across all psychiatric diagnoses. The phenomenon may be even more relevant in rural settings. Aims: The aim of the present study was to explore attendance to treatment in first-contact patients in a community-based treatment setting in rural Greece and to explore the associations of treatment attendance with demographic and clinical factors. Method: Data were collected prospectively over a 3-year period, with 1-year follow-up interval. All first-contact cases with the Mobile Mental Health Unit of the prefectures of Ioannina and Thesprotia (MMHU I-T), Northwest Greece were considered, but only clinical cases were processed. Results: The sample size consisted of 446 patients, with a mean age 65.4 ± 18.8 years. The rate of 12-month attendance to mental health treatment was 13.5% (60 out of 446 patients). Treatment attendance was found to be correlated with younger age, the diagnosis of schizophrenia-spectrum disorder, and patients’ referral by other psychiatric services. First examination over the year 2019 had been significantly inversely associated with treatment engagement. Conclusion: Rates of subsequent attendance after initial assessment in a rural community mental healthcare setting were rather low in the present study. Several variables that have been previously associated with service engagement were found to be related in this study too, whereas other were not. Research on treatment engagement in rural treatment settings should be ongoing to reveal all associated factors.

Suggested Citation

  • Aikaterini Grammeniati & Alexandra Mantziou & Vaios Peritogiannis, 2024. "First-contact patients with a community mental health service in rural Greece: A 3-year prospective study of treatment attendance and its co-relations," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 70(2), pages 355-363, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:70:y:2024:i:2:p:355-363
    DOI: 10.1177/00207640231212097
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Vaios Peritogiannis & Sofia Rousoudi & Theofanis Vorvolakos & Panagiota Gioti & Afroditi Gogou & Argiri Arre & Maria Samakouri, 2022. "A comparative study of two Mobile Mental Health Units in different catchment rural areas in Greece," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 68(2), pages 324-333, March.
    2. Vaios Peritogiannis & Maria Samakouri, 2021. "Research on psychotic disorders in rural areas: Recent advances and ongoing challenges," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 67(8), pages 1046-1057, December.
    3. Vaios Peritogiannis & Panagiota Gioti & Afroditi Gogou & Maria Samakouri, 2020. "Decrease of hospitalizations and length of hospital stay in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders treated in a community mental health service in rural Greece," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 66(7), pages 693-699, November.
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