Factors influencing length of mental hospital stay in Greece nationwide (1984-1993)

Nationwide data on the length of stay of discharged patients from all mental hospitals for the period 1984-1993 were analysed to determine possible influencing factors. In the public sector the duration of hospitalization of male patients was found to be lower than that of the females. However the length of stay of female patients between 1984 and 1993 was cut by 30%. The mean length of stay in the private sector was found to be lower than that of the public although the trends were increasing. All these years the most powerful predictors of length of stay were age, gender, marital status, occupation, type of hospital and diagnosis. The proportion of total variance explained ranged from 20% in 1981 to 288 in 1990.