Equipa de Intervenção Comunitária em Saúde Mental - A Realidade de um Hospital Geral

Introduction: The Mental Health Community Model advocates that care should be provided in places that are conveniently accessible to the population, providing preventive, therapeutic and rehabilitative care. This study focused on the home visits program of the Community Team of Ponte de Lima. Objectives: To assess whether there are differences between the number of admissions and the number of days of hospitalization before and after the integration of patients into the home visits program; to ascertain the existence of a correlation between these variables and the frequency of visits; and to carry out a sociodemographic and clinical characterization of the target population. Methods: Observational, analytical, transversal and retrospective study. The target population consisted of the patients who were part of the home visits program from January 2015 to December 2017. The study variables were obtained by consulting patients’ clinical records. Statistical analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences - version 22 - for Windows (IBM Corp. Released 2013). Results: A final n of 171 participants was obtained. Most were 70 or more years old and lived in homes, social centers, parishes and community centers. A predominance of female, single and retired patients was noted. The most commonly reported psychiatric condition was dementia. After integration into the program, there was a significant reduction in the total number of admissions and the days of hospitalization in all participants. After starting the program, patients without admissions were visited more regularly than those with at least one admission. In hospitalized patients after enrollment in the program, a strong and significant positive correlation was observed between the number of hospitalization days and the time elapsed between visits. Conclusion: The research team aims for an organizational reassessment of the various Psychiatry services across the country.