Patterns of Admission in Schizophrenia

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Abstract
Many surveys have been made of the course of schizophrenia, with results which may vary with diagnostic criteria, source and possible selection of patients, hospital admission and discharge policy (and facilities), and many other factors. The time scale is of particular relevance in view of the sometimes life-long course of the condition. Short-term studies thus have limitations to their value, and long-term surveys present problems, such as changes in fashions of diagnosis and management, which may affect their relevance at the time of publication. At present, there is much discussion of the relative roles of general hospital psychiatric units, mental hospitals and community care in the management of schizophrenia, and these organizational aspects are closely bound up and indeed are sometimes confused with the clinical course of the illness.