Abstract
To clarify the characteristics of the mentally disabled persons who needed to be psychiatrically hospitalized in the wake of neighbors' complaints. We analyzed 1593 mental health consultation records at a community health center that were written from April 2007 to July 2012 in this cross-sectional survey. We performed a chi-squared automatic interaction detection technique (CHAID) to clarify the characteristics of the mentally disabled who are most likely to admit to the psychiatric facility. We found that 81 had information on neighbors’ claims about the behavior of mentally disabled, 26 were psychiatrically hospitalized. The CHAID showed that the mentally disabled persons who (1) had serious influences on his/her life and body when the present conditions were neglected or (2) were unable to sustain an independent life was admitted to the psychiatric facility. If the mentally disabled person met (1), 83.3% were admitted to the hospital. If the mentally disabled did not meet (1) but met (2), 60.0% were hospitalized. Among the neighbors' complaints, the persons who had a serious influence on his or her life and body when the present conditions were neglected or were unable to sustain an independent life had needs of psychiatric interventions. Our findings may help public health nurses effectively identify the mentally disabled persons who need urgently support to go to the hospital and psychiatric treatment by focusing on his/her life skill.
