Development of an instrument to measure patients’ attitudes towards involuntary hospitalization

Differences of mentally ill patients' satisfaction degree during their involuntary or voluntary stay in a psychiatric clinic

BACKGROUND

Mental health illness is not considered as a private matter, as it affects not only the mental patient's life and those who are considered his/her immediate family, but also the society as a whole. The involuntary examination and/or hospitalization in the field of mental health as the basic first-line therapeutic solution in Greece, calls for an immediate intervention, which is supposed to counterbalance the need for therapy and patient's rights of personal freedom and safety.

DESIGN AND METHODS

A research using questionnaire was realized, consisting of 100 hospitalized patients in psychiatric clinics (50 voluntarily and 50 involuntarily hospitalized) at the Psychiatric Hospital of Attica. The sampling scheme was the stratified sampling and the level of statistical significance was set to α=0.05.

RESULTS

The results have shown that involuntarily and voluntarily hospitalized mental patients did not differ significantly with almost the entirety of the questionnaire; however, the involuntary patients were significantly more satisfied with the conditions of hospitalization as well as assessing the overall quality of the services provided during their hospitalization.

CONCLUSIONS

For mentally ill patients, greater importance and stronger correlation with gratification, does not constitute the admission procedure to the psychiatric clinic but the development of effective communication and therapeutic relationship with the staff, full knowledge and update about patient's health condition, medication, participation in therapeutic planning and hospitalization in a regime of autonomy and respect for their rights.

The recognition and expectations of ex-inpatients of mental health services: A web-based questionnaire survey in Japan

Concern about mental health issues and the treatment of mentally disordered offenders attracts considerable public attention. This study aimed to gather the experiences and opinions of people who have experienced admission to a psychiatric ward in order to grasp their reaction to, and understanding of, the legislation behind the involuntary admission of psychiatric patients. A web-based questionnaire survey was conducted with a total of 379 participants, using a cross-sectional, exploratory design. The data were analyzed using a chi-squared test, Fisher's exact test, and a logistic regression analysis. According to the results, many patients were satisfied with their treatment during psychiatric admission; however, only few participants said that they had been given an adequate explanation for their involuntary treatment. Most participants expected qualified assistance after discharge, although the prospect of a regular visit from an official was not entirely supported by the participants. Patient satisfaction was relevant to the discussion of their needs after discharge and in developing a crisis plan during admission. These findings suggest that psychiatric patients accept inpatient treatment as long as they receive an adequate explanation. More qualified care such as relapse prevention would be expected to lead to better satisfaction. For them to welcome regular visits from an official, patients may need more information and discussion.