This paper describes an assessment of social role functioning impairments in long-stay psychiatric patients. Most recent studies have concentrated on this theme and these measures are very important to the transfer of care from hospitals to community facilities. In order to assess the long term impairments or disabilities, we have used the Social Behavioural Schedule (SBS) that covers behaviour areas which have been shown in previous research to describe the major difficulties exhibited by patients with long-term impairments. Forty-six women were randomized from a range of two hundred women living at the Núcleo Franco da Rocha, a hospitalar unit of Instituto Municipal Juliano Moreira in Rio de Janeiro. The NFR results were compared with a homeless hostels sample and a long stay wards sample, both in London. Despite the average age and the long term living in a psychiatric hospital, 1/3 of the studied population could live in supervised residences. These finds suggest that a significant percent of the patients who live in long stay psychiatric hospitals are able to live in community facilities.
Social Behavioural Schedule; SBS; Deinstitutionalization; Social disability
