Social factors affecting clinical caseload in Italian good practice areas.

Italian statistics indicate that fewer people are living alone than in Great Britain. Psychiatric Case Register figures show that the treated prevalences are nearly half those found in British Case Register areas. The level of staffing in good practice areas like South-Verona or Trieste is at least similar and at times higher than British or American counterparts. The clinical caseload of Italian clinical teams is therefore lower. The Italian patients may have a greater social network's availability by the mere fact of living in the same household of relatives. It is hypothesized that these elements affect a clinical team's availability to offer alternatives to hospitalisation. A ratio caseload/staff should be taken into account in assessing the Italian psychiatric reform and alternatives to hospitalisation.