We investigated the missed treatment opportunities affecting programmes using mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) as the sole anthropometric criterion for identification and monitoring of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM).

Alongside MUAC, we assessed weight-for-height Z-score (WHZ) in children screened and treated according to the national MUAC only protocol in Pakistan. Besides, we collected parents’ perceptions regarding the treatment received by their children through qualitative interviews.

Data were collected from October to December 2021 in Tando Allah Yar District, Sindh.

All children screened in the health facilities (n 8818) and all those discharged as recovered (n 686), throughout the district, contributed to the study. All children screened in the community in the catchment areas of five selected health facilities also contributed (n 8459). Parents of forty-one children randomly selected from these same facilities participated in the interviews.

Overall, 80·3 % of the SAM cases identified during community screening and 64·1 % of those identified in the health facilities presented a ‘WHZ-only’ diagnosis. These figures reached 93·9 % and 84·5 %, respectively, in children aged over 24 months. Among children treated for SAM and discharged as recovered, 25·3 % were still severely wasted according to WHZ. While parents positively appraised the treatment received by their children, they also recommended to extend eligibility to other malnourished children in their neighbourhood.

In this context, using MUAC as the sole anthropometric criterion for treatment decisions (referral, admission and discharge) resulted in a large number of missed opportunities for children in need of timely and adequate care.

Evidence for risk of dying by suicide and other causes following discharge from in-patient psychiatric care throughout adulthood is sparse.

To estimate risks of all-cause mortality, natural and external-cause deaths, suicide and accidental, alcohol-specific and drug-related deaths in working-age and older adults within a year post-discharge.

Using interlinked general practice, hospital, and mortality records in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink we delineated a cohort of discharged adults in England, 2001–2018. Each patient was matched to up to 20 general population comparator patients. Cumulative incidence (absolute risks) and hazard ratios (relative risks) were estimated separately for ages 18–64 and ≥65 years with additional stratification by gender and practice-level deprivation.

The 1-year cumulative incidence of dying post-discharge was 2.1% among working-age adults (95% CI 2.0–2.3) and 14.1% (95% CI 13.6–14.5) among older adults. Suicide risk was particularly elevated in the first 3 months, with hazard ratios of 191.1 (95% CI 125.0–292.0) among working-age adults and 125.4 (95% CI 52.6–298.9) in older adults. Older patients were vulnerable to dying by natural causes within 3 months post-discharge. Risk of dying by external causes was greater among discharged working-age adults in the least deprived areas. Relative risk of suicide in discharged working-age women relative to their general population peers was double the equivalent male risk elevation.

Recently discharged adults at any age are at increased risk of dying from external and natural causes, indicating the importance of close monitoring and provision of optimal support to all such patients, particularly during the first 3 months post-discharge.

In Taiwan, residents of mental health halfway houses (MHHH) receive psychiatric rehabilitation services, aiming for independent living and community integration. Research is yet to investigate how MHHH may effectively assist residents’ discharge in this cultural context.

To examine the processes of assessment, preparation, assistance, and appraisal of discharge from MHHH staff’s perspectives.

Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 11 halfway house staff members. Verbatim transcripts were analyzed with dimensional analysis procedures of the grounded theory methodology.

Successful discharge is a personalized process with integrated approaches addressing three essential factors: (a) regular community involvement, (b) the residents’ capacity to work, and (c) the family’s acceptance and support. Staff supported individual residents’ community involvement by attending to residents’ personal interests, resource availability, financial concerns, and transportation. Moreover, staff provided rehabilitation trainings to develop work capacity. However, residents’ motivation and functioning as well as job opportunities might affect their employment. Finally, in Taiwan, residents were rarely discharged without their family members’ consent because residents tended to co-reside with their family after discharge or rely on family support while living separately. Staff worked to engage families, which was influenced by family relationship quality, past traumatic events, financial concerns, capacity to assist the resident, and/or the resident’s ability to assist with family affairs.

To achieve successful discharges, MHHH staff need to assist each resident by developing an integrated plan to enhance conditions of the aforementioned factors, including strategies for different familial situations to garner family support in this cultural context.

In March 2020, the UK government ordered mental health services to free up bed space to help manage the COVID-19 pandemic. This meant service users detained under the Mental Health Act were discharged at a higher rate than normal. We analysed whether this decision compromised the safety of this vulnerable group of service users.

We utilised a cohort study design and allocated service users to either the pre-rapid discharge, rapid discharge or post-rapid discharge group. We conducted a recurrent event analysis to assess group differences in the risk of experiencing negative outcomes during the 61 days post-discharge. We defined negative outcomes as crisis service use, re-admission to a psychiatric ward, community incidents of violence or self-harm and death by suicide.

The pre-rapid discharge cohort included 258 service users, the rapid discharge cohort 127 and the post-rapid discharge cohort 76. We found no statistical association between being in the rapid discharge cohort and the risk of experiencing negative outcomes (HR: 1.14, 95% CI: 0.72–1.8, p = 0.58) but a trend towards statistical significance for service users in the post-rapid discharge cohort (HR: 1.61, 95% CI: 0.91–2.83, p = 0.1).

We did not find evidence that service users rapidly discharged from section experienced poorer outcomes. This raises the possibility that the Mental Health Act is applied in an overly restrictive manner, meaning that sections for some formally detained service users could be ended earlier without compromising safety.

Homelessness in England and Wales is on the rise together with the mortality rate among homeless people. Many homeless people have a mental illness, which is a risk factor for suicide.

This study used data from the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health to examine demographic and clinical characteristics of homeless people who died by suicide and were in recent contact with mental health services.

We have compared 514 patients (2% of the total sample) who died by suicide and who were reported as being homeless or having no fixed abode by their clinicians with patients in stable accommodation between 2000 and 2016 to identify differences in sociodemographic characteristics and clinical care.

Our analysis suggests that homeless patients who died by suicide had more acute (alcohol: 47% v. 25%, P < 0.01, drug: 39% v. 15%, P < 0.01) and chronic (alcohol: 72% v. 44%, P > 0.01, drug: 64% v. 31%) substance misuse issues than patients in stable accommodation. Homeless patients were also more likely to die as in-patients (21% v. 10%, P < 0.01) or within 3 months of discharge (32% v. 19%, P < 0.01).

Homeless patients who died by suicide more often had known risk factors for suicide than patients in stable accommodation. As a result of the higher percentages of post-discharge and in-patient suicides in homeless patients as well as the high prevalence of substance misuse, this study recommends closer integration of services as well as awareness of risks during in-patient admission and in the weeks immediately after discharge.

Clinical depression affects approximately 15% of community-dwelling older adults, of which half of these cases present in later life. Falls and depressive symptoms are thought to co-exist, while physical activity may protect an older adult from developing depressive symptoms. This study investigates the temporal relationships between depressive symptoms, falls, and participation in physical activities amongst older adults recently discharged following extended hospitalization.

A prospective cohort study in which 311 older adults surveyed prior to hospital discharge were assessed monthly post-discharge for six months. N = 218 completed the six-month follow-up. Participants were recruited from hospitals in Melbourne, Australia. The survey instrument used was designed based on Fiske's behavioral model depicting onset and maintenance of depression. The baseline survey collected data on self-reported falls, physical activity levels, and depressive symptoms. The monthly follow-up surveys repeated measurement of these outcomes.

At any assessment point, falls were positively associated with depressive symptoms; depressive symptoms were negatively associated with physical activity levels; and, physical activity levels were negatively associated with falls. When compared with data in the subsequent assessment point, depressive symptoms were positively associated with falls reported over the next month (unadjusted OR: 1.20 (1.12, 1.28)), and physical activity levels were negatively associated with falls reported over the next month (unadjusted OR: 0.97 (0.96, 0.99) household and recreational), both indicating a temporal relationship.

Falls, physical activity, and depressive symptoms were inter-associated, and depressive symptoms and low physical activity levels preceded falls. Clear strategies for management of these interconnected problems remain elusive.