Profiles of Patients With Intellectual Disability and Mental Illness in Specialized and Generic Units in an Ontario Psychiatric Hospital

Abstract

In a mental health system where limited specialized services exist for individuals with intellectual disability (ID), patients using such services should be those with the most complex needs. The purpose of this study was to compare the profile of patients with ID served in a specialized unit (n = 40) to those in generic units (n = 141) within one psychiatric teaching hospital in Ontario. Based on previous research, it was hypothesized that specialized patients would differ in terms of psychiatric diagnoses, service needs, overall level of functioning, and length of stay when compared with their counterparts in generic units. A retrospective review of select data from the Resident Assessment Instrument–Mental Health (RAI-MH) and Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) was conducted for patients with ID discharged from all units of our hospital from 2006 to mid-2009. Though patients were demographically similar, those in the specialized unit stayed in the hospital longer than generic patients. Differences in psychiatric diagnoses, reasons for referral, overall functioning, and medication use were also found.

KEYWORDS:

• specialized
• generic
• inpatient
• intellectual disability
• mental health
• psychiatric disorders