Various factors may contribute to cyclical fluctuations in mental health emergency service utilization.

Information regarding service utilization patterns would assist the planning and administration of such programs.

Five years of data on emergency service contacts at a rural community mental health center were analyzed retrospectively in order to clarify which of an array of potential factors actually affect the utilization of emergency services.

One way analyses of variance (ANOVA) or analogous nonparametric tests were performed.

Furthermore analyses of significant group differences were performed by means of multiple comparison tests and confidence intervals.

Significant associations with number of emergency contacts were found for season, day of week, holidays, school vacations and weather conditions.

This study helps to elucidate those factors affecting psychiatric emergency service utilization at a rural community mental health center.

Such factors may differ from those affecting other indicators of psychopathology.