Peculiarities of the residents of a psychoneurological long-term care facility

Abstract

Over the course of the last decade the problems of integrating disabled individuals into modern society have been actively researched. Provision of medical-social services to individuals, disabled due to mental illness, depends on their rehabilitative potential. There is a need to study the peculiarities of the cohort of residents at the psychoneurological long-term care facilities, and the factors that influence the provision of care, treatment and rehabilitation to patients.

 The objective was to study the distribution of residents at the psychoneurological facility depending on their age, nosology and officially assigned degree of disability.

Material and methods. Research was set up to register all data in a cross-cut observational descriptive-type study. The scientific work was performed at the 30 Psychoneurological residential facility of the Department of Labor and Social Security of the City of Moscow (30 PRF). The observed group included all residents (n=986). The study was of the documental type; it did not include the participants’ personal data.

Results and discussion. 30 PRF is a state-run inpatient institution providing social services, which is designed for permanent, temporary (for up to 6 months), and short-term (5 day-long) stay of elderly persons with mental disorders, and disabled individuals over 18 years of age with disability status I and II, assigned to them due to mental illness, who have either partially or completely lost their ability to care for themselves; the institution is also designed to provide combined medical and social care to above-said persons. Inpatient capacity equals 1001 beds.

In distributing patients across age sub-groups, we have established that the 1^st observational sub-group was predominantly comprised of middle-aged persons (aged between 36 and 59) – 38.0% (n=375). Individuals in this sub-group already had the developed labor and social skills. This made it possible to plan the medical-social rehabilitative activities for this sub-group.

 The 2^nd sub-group included old and very old persons – 35.7% (n=352). This sub-group was characterized by the presence of pronounced comorbid somatic disorders. Special medical-social rehabilitative interventions were applied to this sub-group. Their goal was to support patients’ ability to participate in socially useful occupations. It was important to maintain their willingness to communicate, establish new relations, acquaintances, and keep up an active lifestyle.

The 3^rd sub-group included young persons – 26.3% (n=259). Individuals in this sub-group had significant rehabilitative potential. Members of this sub-group were able to attend the special corrective schools, acquire occupational skills, work as residential facility staff, practice music, dancing, group therapeutic physical education.

Participants were distributed according to nosology as follows: disabled individuals with schizophrenia – 42.0%, disabled individuals with mental retardation of varying severity – 34.9%, disabled individuals with organic brain pathology – 22.0%, and disabled persons with epilepsy – 1.1%.

Study participants were distributed across disability groups as follows: group I disability status – 25.9%, and group II disability status – 74.1%.