A Scoping Review of Patient Involvement in Violence Risk Assessment.

Area of Science:

• Forensic Psychology
• Mental Health Research
• Clinical Risk Assessment

Background:

• Patient involvement in violence risk assessment is an emerging area of research.
• Understanding patient experiences and the efficacy of their input is crucial for improving assessment accuracy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a scoping review of published literature on patient involvement in violence risk assessment.
• To determine the extent of patient involvement and summarize existing evidence.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive search of five electronic databases and reference lists was performed.
• English-language, peer-reviewed articles of any methodology involving patients in violence risk assessment were included.
• Data extraction and review were conducted by both authors.

Main Results:

• Fifteen articles met the inclusion criteria, detailing three approaches to patient engagement: patient experiences, use of rating scales, and self-perceived risk.
• Four key themes emerged regarding evidence: patient views, comparison of self-rated vs. clinician-rated tools' predictive accuracy, and comparison of risk ratings.

Conclusions:

• There is a significant lack of published research on patient involvement in violence risk assessment.
• Patient self-risk assessment demonstrates predictive ability comparable to clinician ratings.
• Further clinical research is warranted to develop and validate tools for patient-involved risk assessment.