Homelessness and incarceration among psychiatric patients in Brazil

All-cause and cause-specific mortality among people with severe mental illness in Brazil's public health system, 2000-15: a retrospective study

BACKGROUND

People with severe mental illness have a mortality rate higher than the general population, living an average of 10-20 years less. Most studies of mortality among people with severe mental illness have occurred in high-income countries (HICs). We aimed to estimate all-cause and cause-specific relative risk (RR) and excess mortality rate (EMR) in a nationwide cohort of inpatients with severe mental illness compared with inpatients without severe mental illness in a middle income country, Brazil.

METHODS

This national retrospective cohort study included all patients hospitalised through the Brazilian Public Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde [SUS]-Brazil) between Jan 1, 2000, and April 21, 2015. Probabilistic and deterministic record linkages integrated data from the Hospital Information System (Sistema de informações Hospitalares) and the National Mortality System (Sistema de Informação sobre Mortalidade). Follow-up duration was measured from the date of the patients' first hospitalisation until their death, or until April 21, 2015. Severe mental illness was defined as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or depressive disorder by ICD-10 codes used for the admission. RR and EMR were calculated with 95% CIs, comparing mortality among patients with severe mental illness with those with other diagnoses for patients aged 15 years and older. We redistributed deaths using the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study methodology if ill-defined causes of death were stated as an underlying cause.

FINDINGS

From Jan 1, 2000, to April 21, 2015, 72 021 918 patients (31 510 035 [43·8%] recorded as male and 40 974 426 [56·9%] recorded as female; mean age 41·1 (SD 23·8) years) were admitted to hospital, with 749 720 patients (372 458 [49·7%] recorded as male and 378 670 [50·5%] as female) with severe mental illness. 5 102 055 patient deaths (2 862 383 [56·1%] recorded as male and 2 314 781 [45·4%] as female) and 67 485 deaths in patients with severe mental illness (39 099 [57·9%] recorded as male and 28 534 [42·3%] as female) were registered. The RR for all-cause mortality in patients with severe mental illness was 1·27 (95% CI 1·27-1·28) and the EMR was 2·52 (2·44-2·61) compared with non-psychiatric inpatients during the follow-up period. The all-cause RR was higher for females and for younger age groups; however, EMR was higher in those aged 30-59 years. The RR and EMR varied across the leading causes of death, sex, and age groups. We identified injuries (suicide, interpersonal violence, and road injuries) and cardiovascular disease (ischaemic heart disease) as having the highest EMR among those with severe mental illness. Data on ethnicity were not available.

INTERPRETATION

In contrast to studies from HICs, inpatients with severe mental illness in Brazil had high RR for idiopathic epilepsy, tuberculosis, HIV, and acute hepatitis, and no significant difference in mortality from cancer compared with inpatients without severe mental illness. These identified causes should be addressed as a priority to maximise mortality prevention among people with severe mental illness, especially in a middle-income country like Brazil that has low investment in mental health.

FUNDING

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais, FAPEMIG, and the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior-Brasil.

Advisory teams on the streets: A nurse's experience report

OBJECTIVE

To report a nurse's work experience with the street medical consultation teams in the city of São Paulo/SP Brazil.

METHOD

Descriptive, experience report study, which describes the care for homeless people, from a nurse's perspective and experience.

RESULTS

Among the attributions of the nurses working with the street medical consultation teams, there are the accurate knowledge of the territory, the ability to build bonds, the performance of diagnoses of health and epidemiological conditions, the planning of the team's actions, the establishment of integration flows with the Health Care Network, the knowledge and understanding about the people ending up on the streets, the supervision of the actions of nursing assistants and community health agents.

CONCLUSION

Acting as a nurse on the street medical consultation team is a new and challenging experience that requires dynamic, strategic, creative, and empathic actions. The presence of nurses in the Street Medical Consultation teams contributes to ensuring access to health services and comprehensive care, expanding the possibilities of early detection, treatment, monitoring, and healing of chronic and infectious diseases.

Equipes de consultório na rua: relato de experiência de uma enfermeira

RESUMO Objetivo: Relatar a experiência acerca da atuação da/o enfermeira/o junto às equipes de consultório na rua no município de São Paulo/SP Brasil. Método: Estudo descritivo, do tipo relato de experiência, que descreve o cuidado às pessoas em situação de rua, a partir do olhar e da vivência de uma enfermeira. Resultados: Dentre as atribuições das/os enfermeiras/os que atuavam junto às equipes de consultório na rua, destacavam-se o conhecimento acurado do território, habilidade para construção de vínculos, realização de diagnósticos das condições de saúde e epidemiológico, planejamento das ações da equipe, estabelecimento de fluxos de integração junto à Rede de Assistência à Saúde, conhecimento e compreensão sobre a chegada das pessoas às ruas, supervisão das ações dos auxiliares de enfermagem e agentes comunitários de saúde. Conclusão: Atuar como enfermeira/o na equipe de consultório na rua é uma experiência nova e desafiadora que requer dos profissionais ações dinâmicas, estratégicas, criativas e empáticas. A presença de enfermeiras/os nas equipes de Consultório na Rua contribui para a garantia do acesso aos serviços de saúde e cuidado integral, amplia as possibilidades de detecção precoce, tratamento, acompanhamento e a cura de agravos crônicos e infectocontagiosos.