Quality of Consultation-liaison Referrals to the Psychiatry Department in a Nigerian Teaching Hospital: A Retrospective Study
Rattachement africain : Nigéria. Niveau de preuve : code pays fourni par la source.
Le résumé fourni par la source
BACKGROUND: Efficient consultation-liaison referrals to psychiatrists are essential in a multidisciplinary healthcare setting to optimise care, reduce unnecessary costs and bridge the treatment gap in mental health. AIMS: The aim of this study is to analytically assess the quality and to identify deficiencies of consultation-liaison referrals from various medical specialties to psychiatry in a teaching hospital in Nigeria. METHODS: A retrospective review of 263 in-hospital referral letters to the Psychiatry Department from January 2022 to April 2024 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria, was conducted. Referrals addressed to clinical psychologists were excluded. An adapted 'Consultation and Referral Request Letter Assessment Tool' was utilised to assess the quality of referrals, which was then categorised into 'poor', 'fair' and 'good'. RESULTS: The mean patient age was 40.68 years, with a balanced gender distribution. The study demonstrated that only 4.9% of the letters lacked a referral reason. Timing and urgency indicators were lacking in over 95% of the letters, and ongoing treatment information was absent in 77.2% of referrals. Notably, a quarter (25.1%) of the referral letters were objectively rated as poor in quality. The perceived usefulness of the referrals was significantly associated with the objectively assessed quality of the referrals (P = 0.01). CONCLUSION: This audit highlights substantial deficiencies in referral letters to psychiatric services, which could complicate efficient triaging. There is a pressing need for a standardised referral template and education to enhance the quality of medical referrals, thus improving patient outcomes and resource utilisation.
Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.
Le contrôle bibliographique ouvert
DOI retrouvé dans Crossref DOI retrouvé ; titre concordant.
- Titre Crossref
- Quality of Consultation-liaison Referrals to the Psychiatry Department in a Nigerian Teaching Hospital: A Retrospective Study
- Date Crossref
- 01/04/2025
- Éditeur
- Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
- Type
- journal-article
Ce recoupement confirme des métadonnées liées au DOI. Il ne confirme ni la méthode ni les conclusions de l’étude, et il ne compte pas comme une seconde source scientifique indépendante.
Où se fait cette recherche
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Nnamdi Azikiwe University Department of Mental Health Nnewi, Nigéria (code pays fourni par la source)Université ou école supérieure
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Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital Nigéria (code pays fourni par la source)Établissement de santé
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Federal Medical Centre Nigéria (code pays fourni par la source)Établissement de santé
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Federal Neuro Psychiatric Hospital Nigéria (code pays fourni par la source)Établissement de santé
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Faculty of Medicine Department of Mental Health Nnewi Campus, Nigéria (pays nommé en fin d’affiliation)Université ou école supérieure
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Jalingo Department of Internal Medicine Nigéria (pays nommé en fin d’affiliation)Organisation à but non lucratif
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Department of Clinical Sciences Benin City, Nigéria (pays nommé en fin d’affiliation)Établissement de santé
Department of Mental Health — Nnamdi Azikiwe University (Nnewi, Nigéria), Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (Nigéria) et Federal Medical Centre (Nigéria), avec 4 autres affiliations. Pays d’affiliation : Nigéria.
Une affiliation ne permet pas de déduire la nationalité d’un auteur.