Residential mobility among patients admitted to acute psychiatric wards.

Residential mobility among those with mental disorders is consistently associated with hospital admission. We studied 4485 psychiatric admissions in South London, aiming to describe the prevalence, timing and associations of residential moves occurring in association with admission. Moves tended to cluster around discharge; 15% of inpatients moved during admission or up to 28 days after discharge. The strongest associations were with younger age (especially 16-25 years) and homelessness. Unadjusted effects of gender, marital status and previous service use were mediated by homelessness. Possible mechanisms for the associations with homelessness and younger age are discussed.