Abstract
To investigate the incidence rate of the neighbors' claims about mentally ill persons, and to clarify the related factors of public health nurses’ support for the individual to go to the medical facility. In this cross-sectional survey, 1593 mental health consultation records were analyzed which filled in the form from April 1st 2007 to the end of July 2012. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine associated factors. Of those 1593 records, there were 81 had information of the neighboring complaint about the behavior of the mentally ill persons. The incidence of the neighboring complaint consultation for one yr was 10.3 per 100,000 population. Forty two (51.9%) had ‘support group,’ and 39 (48.1%) was ‘no support group.’ Logistic regression analysis identified that ‘Having a serious influence on his/her life and body when the present condition was neglected’ was significantly related to public health nurses’ support for the mentally ill individuals to go to the hospital. To our knowledge, this is the first to systematically investigate the incidence rate of the neighbors' claims about mentally ill person. The results suggest that neighbors' complaints are useful for public health nurses to identify patients who need psychiatric interventions.