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Patterns of care in the field of mental health
Author(s) -
Sytema S.,
Giel R.,
Horn G.H.M.M.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
acta psychiatrica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.849
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1600-0447
pISSN - 0001-690X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1989.tb09227.x
Subject(s) - standardization , argument (complex analysis) , mental health care , mental health , health care , psychology , duration (music) , field (mathematics) , nursing , medicine , computer science , psychiatry , mathematics , political science , literature , art , pure mathematics , law , operating system
The concept “patterns of care” plays a central role in research focusing on the evaluation of mental health care. It is a concept encompassing a number of dimensions. The primary ingredients are the type, the setting, the intensity and the duration of care. In this paper, a critical survey is provided of a total of 7 classifications or scales of patterns of care. An argument is advanced for developing a more systematic working method within this research area, in which new scales of patterns of care are developed, building on the methodology already in existence. Standardization is urgently needed if comparative research is to yield better results than it has in the past.