Betrokken instelling

Adhesie GGZ, Rivierduinen, Trimbos instituut, Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen

Betrokken personen

• Drs. P.J.J. Goossens
• Dr. E.A.M. Knoppert- van der Klein
• Dr. H. Kroon
• Prof. Dr. T. van Achterberg

Startdatum en looptijd

2005, afgerond.

Achtergrond van het onderzoek

The care needs of patients with a bipolar disorder have not been studied to date.

Doelstelling van het project

In the present research, the care needs, care received and unmet care needs for a population of outpatients with a bipolar disorder in the Netherlands are described..

Hoe wordt het onderzoek uitgevoerd?

The participants (n=157) completed the Need for Care Questionnaire and a questionnaire addressing various demographic and clinical characteristics..

Zijn er al (voorlopige) resultaten?

The results show the care needs to mainly involve the domains of psychological help, psychiatric help and social functioning. Unmet needs are frequently reported for all domains and found to be particularly frequent for needs on social functioning. Some significant associations between source of income, number of hospitalizations and involvement of Community Psychiatric Nurses, on the one hand, and reported care needs, on the other hand, are identified and discussed. Incorporation of needs assessment into the treatment process is recommended in the form of structured questionnaires which can also then be used to guide and evaluate the treatment process. Future research should focus on the identification of the specific risk factors for particular care needs and thereby work to minimize the occurrence of such risk factors and promote early intervention efforts to reduce the burden on patients and their relatives.

Goossens, P. J. J., Knoppert-van der Klein, E. A. M., Kroon, H., van Achterberg, Th. Self reported care needs of outpatients with a bipolar disorder in the Netherlands: a quantitative study. Journal of psychiatric and mental health nursing. In press.