The chronic mental patient and community psychiatry: a system in trouble.

In Canada, as elsewhere, there has been a shift away from institutional care toward community care for chronic mental patients. This transition has not occurred without some difficulties arising. In this paper, various major issues pertaining to the care of chronic mental patients in the Canadian health care system are discussed, including problems associated with deinstitutionalization; the defining characteristics and epidemiology of chronic mental illness in Canada; and the debate over the optimal setting in which to provide housing and treatment for chronic mental patients.