A comparison between patients admitted to psychiatric hospitals in Botswana and South Australia

Cohorts of patients admitted to psychiatric hospitals in Botswana and South Australia were compared. The psychiatric hospital in Botswana was used almost entirely for the care of patients with psychotic disorders, whilst one third of the patients in South Australia had either a neurotic or personality disorder diagnosis. A higher proportion of patients in Botswana than South Australia had had only a brief period of illness prior to admission. Violence was equally common amongst Tswana and Australian patients, but was directed outwards towards property and other people in Botswana and inwards towards the self in Australia. It was tentatively concluded that in both countries there was a group of severely ill patients who could not be handled without containment.