Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T04:21:58.241Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Developing a tool for collecting and costing activity data on psychiatric inpatient wards

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2012

R. Sabes-Figuera
Affiliation:
Centre for the Economics of Mental and Physical Health, Health Service and Population Research Department, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK
P. McCrone*
Affiliation:
Centre for the Economics of Mental and Physical Health, Health Service and Population Research Department, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK
J. Sharac
Affiliation:
Centre for the Economics of Mental and Physical Health, Health Service and Population Research Department, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK
E. Csipke
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK
T. K. J. Craig
Affiliation:
Health Service and Population Research Department, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK
D. S. Rose
Affiliation:
Health Service and Population Research Department, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK
D. Pearman
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK
T. Wykes
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK
*
*Address for correspondence: Professor P. McCrone, P024 Health Service and Population Research Department, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK. (Email: paul.mccrone@kcl.ac.uk)

Abstract

Background.

Increasing therapeutic inpatient activities may improve the quality and outcomes of care. Evaluation of these interventions is necessary including assessment of cost-effectiveness. The aim of this paper is to describe the development and reliability of a tool to collect information on care contacts and therapeutic activities of patients on inpatient wards.

Method.

The development of the tool consisted of: 1) literature review, 2) interviews with staff, 3) expert consultation, 4) feasibility study, 5) focus groups with staff members, and 6) reliability tests. Service use data were collected with the tool and costs calculated.

Results.

Service users' reported more use of activities than that contained in case notes during a 7-day period. This resulted in a cost difference of £10 per person. Case notes had more one-to-one nursing contacts, with a cost difference of £4 per person. One-day data showed less nurse contact time reported by participants compared to observational data (p < 0.001) but similar use of activities. Costs were £46 for the tool and £67 for the observational data.

Conclusions.

This tool is a good source of information on the number of activities attended by service users and contacts with psychiatrists. There is some disagreement with other sources of information on interactions between service users and nurses, possibly reflecting different definitions of a ‘meaningful contact’. This does not have a major impact on cost given that for much of the care received there is reasonable agreement.

Type
Instruments
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bee, PE, Richards, DA, Loftus, SJ, Baker, JA, Bailey, L, Lovell, K, Woods, P, Cox, D (2006). Mapping nursing activity in acute inpatient mental healthcare settings. Journal of Mental Health 15, 217226.Google Scholar
Bowers, L (2005). Reasons for admissions and their implications for the nature of acute inpatient psychiatric nursing. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing 12, 231236.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Calsyn, R, Allen, G, Morse, G, Smith, R, Templehoff, B (1993). Can you trust self-report data provided by homeless mentally ill individuals? Evaluation Review 17, 353366.Google Scholar
Cormack, D (1976). Psychiatric Nursing Observed. Royal College of Nursing of the United Kingdom: London.Google Scholar
Curtis, L (2008). Unit Costs of Health and Social Care 2008. PSSRU: Canterbury.Google Scholar
de Jong, A (2000). Development of the international classification of mental health care (ICMHC). Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, Supplement 405, 813.Google Scholar
Fialko, L, Jabati, S, Gregory, R, Grey, S (2005). Improving provision and uptake of therapy activities on an in-patient ward: procedures for regular monitoring and review. Proceedings of the British Psychological Society 13, 170.Google Scholar
Goldberg, RW, Seybolt, DC, Lehman, A (2002). Reliable self-report of health service use by individuals with serious mental illness. Psychiatric Services 53, 879881.Google Scholar
Higgins, R, Hurst, K, Wistow, G (1999). Nursing acute psychiatric patients: a quantitative and qualitative study. Journal of Advanced Nursing 29, 5263.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hopko, DR, Lejuez, CW, LePage, JP, Hopko, SD, McNeil, DW (2003). A brief behavioral activation treatment for depression. A randomized pilot trial within an inpatient psychiatric hospital. Behavior Modification 27, 458469.Google Scholar
Kelly, S, McKenna, H, Parahoo, K, Dusoir, A (2001). The relationship between involvement in activities and quality of life for people with severe and enduring mental illness. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing 8, 139146.Google Scholar
Knapp, M, McDaid, D, Medeiros, H, Becker, T, Johnson, S, Kilian, R, Salvador-Carulla, L, Simon, J, Tatar, M (2008). Economics, Mental Health and Policy: An Overview. Mental Health Economics European Network: London.Google Scholar
McDaid, D, Knapp, M, Medeiros, H, the MHEEN group (2007). Mental health and economics in Europe: findings from the MHEEN group. Eurohealth 13, 16.Google Scholar
Patel, A, Rendu, A, Moran, P, Leese, M, Mann, A, Knapp, M (2005). A comparison of two methods of collecting economic data in primary care. Family Practice 22, 323327.Google Scholar
Ryrie, I, Agunbiade, D, Brannock, L, Maris-Shaw, A (1998). A survey of psychiatric nursing practice in two inner city acute admission wards. Journal of Advanced Nursing 27, 848854.Google Scholar
Sandford, DA, Elzinga, RH, Iversen, RA (1990). A quantitative study of nursing staff interactions in psychiatric wards. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 81, 4651.Google Scholar
Sanson-Fisher, RW, Desmond Poole, A, Thompson, V (1979). Behaviour patterns within a general hospital psychiatric unit: An observational study. Behaviour Research and Therapy 17, 317332.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sharac, J, McCrone, P, Sabes-Figuera, R, Csipke, E, Wood, A, Wykes, T (2010). Nurse and patient activities and interaction on psychiatric inpatients wards: a literature review. Journal of Nursing Studies 47, 909917.Google Scholar
Whittington, D, McLaughlin, C (2000). Finding time for patients: an exploration of nurses' time allocation in an acute psychiatric setting. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing 7, 259268.Google Scholar