[Hospitalization in French forensic units: Results of a patient satisfaction survey]

In France, special full-time inpatient hospital units (UHSA) have been created for inmates with psychiatric disorders. Since they were established in 2010, the quality of care in such units has not been studied. Particularly, no patient satisfaction survey has been conducted yet. The main objective of this study was to assess the patients' satisfaction about their hospitalization in UHSA.

A descriptive study has been performed in two hospitals (UHSA of Villejuif and UHSA of Lille-Seclin). From February to May 2015, 125 adult patients were included, at the end of their hospitalization (voluntary or involuntary psychiatric care) in UHSA. The patient's satisfaction was assessed by a psychiatrist who did not participate in patient care with a 16-item scale exploring three areas (quality of care, quality of information provided and UHSA functioning and organization). The items were evaluated with a visual numeric scale (1 to 10).

The average score of overall satisfaction was 7.3±1.9 (average±standard deviation) for this sample. For the care area, the average score was 7.6±2; for the quality of information provided, it was 7.5±2.5 and for UHSA functioning and organization, 7.0±2. Furthermore, 84.8 % of patients reported their wish to continue psychiatric care in prison and 77.6 % after release.

This study demonstrates that patients hospitalized in UHSA are satisfied. Given the relationship between patient satisfaction and compliance, these structures could therefore have an important medical interest for inmates with psychiatric disorders. However, these results need to be replicated in a study involving all the UHSA of France.