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Evidence based community alternatives to institutional psychiatric care

Alan Rosen, Liz Newton, Karen Barfoot
Abstract
Policies of deinstitutionalisation in Australia and overseas have resulted in the majority of people with a mental illness now living in the community.
Key Points

    International and Australian research shows consistently that community based treatment is superior to hospital centred care for the vast majority of people with acute and long term mental illness. Therefore, as in the management of many clinical conditions, the emphasis in psychiatric treatment is shifting to community based care, with briefer hospital admissions only if necessary.

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