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Involuntary Transfer as a Cause of Death and of Medical Hospitalization in Geriatric Neuropsychiatry Patients *
Author(s) -
WATSON CHARLES G.,
BUERKLE HELEN R.
Publication year - 1976
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1976.tb03303.x
Subject(s) - medicine , neuropsychiatry , psychiatry , geriatric psychiatry , pediatrics
The effects of mass involuntary transfer on geriatric neuropsychiatric male patients were evaluated by comparing outcomes for three overlapping sets of patients (N = 403, 385, and 378) over several follow‐up periods. One group, the “reorganization” sample, consisted of all patients on three geriatric wards at a time just before the wards were reorganized and 20 percent of the patients were transferred to other buildings. The comparison samples comprised two overlapping groups consisting of all patients on the wards four months earlier and four months later. Neither the short‐term (4‐month) nor the long‐term (12‐month) follow‐ups showed any increase in deaths or in medical ward transfers attributable to the reorganization. These findings indicate that certain types of mass involuntary transfer can be carried out without serious traumatic effects on physical health as reported by some observers. Differences between the relatively modified transfer in this project and the more radical transfers described by others are discussed.