Table 1.
Number of patients readmitted to hospital following the first year after discharge, before and after the implementation of the continuity-of-care model
| Period 1 (n = 403)a | Period 2 (n = 482)b | Statistics | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Admission time, mean ± s.d. (days) | 30.51 ± 29.72 | 26.77 ± 27.89 | t = 1.89 | 0.029 |
| Time for initial psychiatric evaluation in the out-patient clinic (days) | 26.41 ± 7.14 | 23.19 ± 7.42 | t = 1.58 | 0.071 |
| Emergency department visit during 90 days after discharge | 156 (38.70%) | 127 (26.35%) | χ2 = 15.418 | <0.001 |
| At least one readmission | 205 (50.9%) | 212 (44.0%) | χ2 = 4.181 | 0.041 |
| At least two readmissions | 114 (28.3%) | 106 (22.0%) | χ2 = 4.658 | 0.032 |
| At least three readmissions | 71 (17.6%) | 67 (13.9%) | χ2 = 2.305 | 0.129 |
| Four or more readmissions | 19 (4.7%) | 18 (3.7%) | χ2 = 0.526 | 0.468 |
| Patients entering rehabilitation process | 32 (7.94%) | 58 (12.03%) | χ2 = 4.024 | 0.044 |
Bold indicates significance at P < 0.05.
a.
Period 1: 1 January to 31 December 2018.
b.
Period 2: 1 June 2021 to 31 May 2022.