Evaluation of Different Forms of Community Meeting in a Psychiatric Unit in Hong Kong

Abstract

SummaryIn an in-patient psychiatric unit attached to a teaching general hospital in Hong Kong, community meetings went through doctor-directed and nurse-directed forms to develop into a non-directive one. The therapeutic value of these different forms was tested by retrospective and prospective studies. In the retrospective study the rates of ward incidents and discharge rates of inpatients before and during the three stages were compared. In the prospective study an ABA design was used with ten-week blocks of regular non-directive meetings, cessation of meetings and then resumption; ward incidents, discharge rates and ward atmosphere during these blocks were compared. Both the non-directive and nurse-directed forms were equally associated with a reduction in ward incidents, aggressive incidents showing the greatest tendency to change; ward atmosphere and patient discharge rates did not change with community meetings.