Characterization of requests for psychiatric hospitalization made by public mental health services in a city in Western Paraná

Abstract

Over the past two decades, Brazil has undergone significant changes in the legal frameworks and care guidelines related to mental health. The role of psychiatric hospitals and other available care devices, as well as the therapeutic pathways of service users, have also changed. Based on the assumptions of the Psychiatric Reform, initiated around half a century ago, community-based care was meant to be a substitute for psychiatric hospitalisation. This study aimed to characterise the records of psychiatric hospitalisation requests completed by specialised public mental health services in the municipality of Toledo, Paraná, between February 2019 and December 2021. It is a documentary, descriptive study with a qualitative approach. A total of 159 records were analysed, most of which originated from the Psychosocial Care Centre for Alcohol and Drugs (CAPS AD). The analysis combined descriptive statistical procedures with Bardin’s content analysis, through which seven final thematic categories were identified. The most frequent findings were male sex, age between 30 and 39 years, diagnosis of substance dependence—particularly alcohol—family and social dysfunction, previous hospitalisation, and irregular use or discontinuation of medication. A concrete direction towards strengthening the link between care work and the community, with the aim of reducing the frequency of psychiatric hospitalisations in favour of community-based care, should involve local and regional research capable of identifying the prevalent conditions among populations for whom hospitalisation is requested, thereby guiding the adaptation of care models and specific public policies.