Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

TAPS was established by the North East Thames Regional Health Authority (NETRHA) to evaluate their policy of closing two of the region's six psychiatric hospitals, Friern and Claybury, and replacing them with district-based services. The main aim of the project was to determine whether the quality of life for long-stay patients discharged to community homes was better in the psychiatric hospital or in the community. This entailed assessing suitable patients while they were in Friern and Claybury hospitals, both scheduled for closure over a ten-year period. The patients were then re-assessed one year and five years after discharge from hospital, using a batch of eight schedules covering a wide variety of aspects of quality of life. During the process of the reposition of services, NETRHA announced that it had insufficient funds to close both hospitals at the same time. Consequently the Claybury research programme was halted and TAPS ceased to study the Claybury patients after the fifth year of discharges. As a result, the study sample includes the total residual long-stay population of Friern Hospital as it was in 1985, and 200 long-stay patients from Claybury Hospital. Insofar as these patients are representative of long-stay populations, the findings of the study should inform the national policy on de-institutionalisation. Please see documentation for further details. More information about the project may be found on the TAPS website at: <a href=http://www.fleet69.demon.co.uk/html/taps.htm>; http://www.fleet69.demon.co.uk/html/taps.htm</a>; .

Main Topics:

A battery of instruments was used to compare the patients' quality of life in hospital and in the community. These included: present state examination, basic everyday living skills, environmental index, patient attitude questionnaire (hospital and community versions), physical health index, personal data and psychiatric history (hospital version), personal data and psychiatric history follow-up (community version), social network schedule and social behaviour schedule. See documentation and TAPS website for further details.

No sampling (total universe)

Face-to-face interview

using computerised versions of the schedules.