EPA-1169 – The Attitudes of Psychiatric Hospital Directors and Workers Toward Hospitalization and Treatment of Patients with Borderline Personality Disoroder (BPD)

Abstract

Introduction:

Negative attitudes towards treatment hospitalization of patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) exist among mental health clinicians. These attitudes could affect the treatment administered to these patients, the length of hospitalization and its cost.

Objectives:

To establish recommendations for health officials regarding the hospitalization and treatment of BPD patients in order to shorten the length of hospitalization of patients with BPD and improve the quality of their treatment.

Aims:

A thorough examination of the attitudes towards BPD patients among four professions (psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and nurses) in four hospitals, and of the directors of the hospitals and of several wards, so as to evaluate their policy regarding the admission and the treatment of BPD patients.

Methods:

We administered questionnaires on explicit and implicit attitudes towards these patients to 710 clinicians in 4 hospitals in Israel, and interviewed the hospitals’ directors and several ward directors. We collected data on the hospitalizations of patients with BPD during the period 2009-2011 and analyzed differences on these measures between professions and hospitals.

Results:

Nurses and psychiatrists had the most negative attitudes towards these patients, and differences were noted between hospitals. While hospital D was characterized by more negative attitudes, less negative attitudes were found in hospital A, and accordingly the longer were admissions and hospitalizations’ costs in this hospital.

Conclusions:

Nurses and psychiatrists are likely to express negative attitudes towards these patients. Possibly, the directors’ attitudes and policy influenced lengths of the hospitalizations and costs of treatment of BPD patients.