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Aging and outpatient service use among persons with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders in a statewide behavioral healthcare system

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Abstract

This investigation explored the demographic and service use correlates of age among young, midlife, and older adults diagnosed with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (N=513), using the administrative data set of a statewide behavioral healthcare system. More African Americans persons were represented in the younger groups (age 18–35, 36–44) than in the older group (age 45 and older). Nearly two thirds of persons with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders seeking outpatient treatment were younger than 45. With the exception of crisis/emergency department services, persons in different age groups did not differ in the amount and type of outpatient service utilized and in the likelihood of dropping out of services early. However, persons aged between 18 and 44 used significantly more crisis/emergency department services than did those aged 45 and older. The findings suggest the importance of relapse prevention for persons aged 18–44 treated in outpatient settings.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. New Hampshire — Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center, State Office Park S, 105 Pleasant St, 03301, Concord, NH

    Weili Lu PhD (research associate)

  2. Behavioral Research and Training Institute, University Behavioral HealthCare, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, NJ

    Philip T. Yanos PhD (instructor) & Shula Minsky EdD (director of quality improvement)

  3. Psychiatry in Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, NJ

    Shula Minsky EdD (director of quality improvement)

  4. University Behavioral HealthCare, Piscataway, NJ

    Gerard L. Kiely PhD (biostatistician)

Authors
  1. Weili Lu PhD
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  2. Philip T. Yanos PhD
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  3. Shula Minsky EdD
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  4. Gerard L. Kiely PhD
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Correspondence to Weili Lu PhD.

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Lu, W., Yanos, P.T., Minsky, S. et al. Aging and outpatient service use among persons with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders in a statewide behavioral healthcare system. The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research 31, 450–457 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02287696

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