Coercion and compulsory hospitalization: some patients' attitudes

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Mental Health Services
• Patient Experience

Background:

• Patient attitudes significantly impact treatment adherence and outcomes in psychiatric settings.
• Understanding initial patient perceptions is crucial for effective therapeutic engagement.
• Admission procedures can influence a patient's initial emotional state and willingness to participate in treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate patient attitudes upon admission to a psychiatric hospital.
• To identify factors associated with negative feelings during psychiatric admission.
• To explore potential improvements in psychiatric hospital admission procedures.

Main Methods:

• Eliciting patient attitudes through direct inquiry upon admission.
• Analyzing patient-reported feelings and reasons for those feelings.
• Comparing attitudes between voluntarily and involuntarily admitted patients.

Main Results:

• Patients admitted coercively or compulsorily expressed significantly more negative feelings.
• Specific reasons for negative feelings were identified and analyzed.
• A notable correlation exists between the perceived lack of autonomy and negative patient attitudes.

Conclusions:

• Compulsory and coerced admissions are linked to heightened negative patient emotions.
• Addressing patient perceptions of coercion and improving admission procedures are vital.
• Enhancing patient autonomy during admission can foster more positive initial attitudes.