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The following is a summary of “Independent Supported Housing vs Institutional Housing Rehabilitation Settings for Non-homeless Individuals with Severe Mental Illness – Longitudinal Results from an observational study,” published in the August 2024 issue of Psychiatry by Adamus et al.

Individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) often choose independent living over institutional care. Independent Supported Housing (ISH) renders this choice but is less likely utilized than housing rehabilitation as usual (HAU).

Researchers conducted a retrospective study examining the effectiveness of housing rehabilitation settings in helping service users choose between ISH and institutional care. 

They organized a 2-year study to evaluate ISH’s impact on various outcomes such as social inclusion, QoL, emotional and social support, capabilities, symptom severity, functioning, service utilization, and costs. Mixed effects models were used with assessments of 6,12, and 24 months between-group and within-group effects. 

The result showed 83 participants, 31 in ISH, and 52 in HAU. Most of the participants were male (64%) and had a primary schizophrenic (35%) or an affective diagnosis (24%). On the other hand, HAU also improved QoL (β = 0.40; 95% CI: 0.12 to 0.69) but at a higher cost. The ISH led to notable advancements in QoL (β = 0.54; 95% CI: 0.26 to 0.82), symptoms (β = -0.32; 95% CI: -0.60 to -0.03), capabilities (β = 4.46; 95% CI: 0.14 to 8.77) and reduced hospitalizations (P=0.04) which was nearly half the cost of HAU. 

They concluded that ISH was significantly less expensive than HAU, which improved QoL, reduced hospitalizations, and supported prioritizing preference-driven housing rehabilitation and moving away from institutional care.

Source: bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12888-024-05995-7