Does future resource input reflect need in first-episode psychosis: Examining the association between individual characteristics and 5-year costs.

The association between future costs and severity of illness suggests that higher needs among patients were associated with higher resource input level. Our results also indicate that other factors than need might affect future costs, for example, parents who serve as advocates for young patients had impact on future health costs. We also found indications of potential barriers among patients with other citizenship in access to health-care services. The strength of the study is that resource data were extracted from official Danish registers and interviewers collected information on clinical characteristics. The results are likely to be context-specific but can be generalized to settings with similar treatment practices.