The research component will focus on the content of care received by schizophrenic patients in general hospital psychiatric units. It will examine the range of routine treatment practices, the institutional and clinical determinants of routine treatment practices, and the short-term clinical consequences of variations in inpatient treatment. The research will be conducted via three related studies: 1) a statewide survey of general hospital psychiatric units (N=98) to characterize the prevalence and distribution of innovative inpatient treatment practices. These innovative practices include an emphasis on medication compliance, continuity of care, patient education, family involvement, substance abuse treatment, procurement of social services, psychosocial rehabilitation, and support, 2) A prospective patient study (N=400) to assess the effects of these innovative treatment practices on short-term (12 week) clinical outcome, and 3) An analysis of survey data on the inpatient treatment of schizophrenia (N=1,509) to examine the influence of patient variables such as comorbidity, legal status, source of payment, and chronicity of illness on the clinical content of inpatient care.
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