Date of Conferral
2021
Degree
Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.)
School
Psychology
Advisor
Eugene Meyer
Abstract
AbstractResearch shows readmitting clients to inpatient psychiatric facilities within 30 days to one year of discharge can be costly for an organization and may represent less than optimal quality care for clients. The purpose of this study was to obtain an in-depth understanding of practices and barriers to reducing inpatient readmissions by completing a qualitative case study of readmission reduction strategies used by a large inpatient psychiatric facility in the southern United States. The Baldrige excellence framework was used to guide the assessment of the organization. Data collection consisted of five semi-structured interviews with organizational leaders, evaluation of internal archival records, and a review of academic literature on the topic of reducing inpatient psychiatric readmissions. Study results identified the following recidivism reduction best practice gaps for the organization: strategic plan alignment, monitoring readmissions, and client participation. Recommendations included adding a readmissions reduction goal to the strategic plan, expanding use of best practices to reduce readmissions, and increasing staff and client engagement in recidivism reduction efforts. This study has implications for the field of behavioral health leadership as other inpatient psychiatric facilities can use this study as a potential model to better understand their own inpatient readmission issues. The positive social change implications of reducing inpatient readmissions include lower healthcare costs and ensuring patients receive a high quality, optimal level of care that allows them to remain in their communities.
Recommended Citation
Jacobs, Cottrell, "Reducing Recidivism of Psychiatric Inpatient Clients in Behavioral Health Facilities" (2021). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 10391.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/10391
