Patient Characteristics of a Rural Emergency Mental Health Service

Descriptions of emergency rural mental health services are rare. In urban areas, emergency services are characterized by high use of facilities late at night, patients who have a variety of diagnoses, & overrepresentation of chronically ill patients. A descriptive study was conducted through records & activity logs of the emergency service of a rural mental health center for 5 years; a profile of the service was thus constructed. Patients were found to be very similar to urban patients in age, sex, referral source, & time of service delivery; but more police referrals, more threat of suicide or violence, & fewer repeats were noted. (15 refs)