Brief Admission by Self-Referral: A 4-Year Follow-Up on Utilisation Patterns and Experiences

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Mental Health Services Research
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Brief Admission (BA) is a crisis intervention for recurrent self-harm and suicidal ideation.
• Long-term utilization patterns of BA are not well understood.
• This study investigates long-term BA usage and participant experiences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine Brief Admission (BA) utilization over four years.
• To identify distinct BA utilization profiles.
• To explore participants' long-term experiences with BA.

Main Methods:

• Mixed-methods convergent parallel design.
• Quantitative analysis of BA utilization data from 62 participants over 4 years.
• Qualitative content analysis of participant experiences.

Main Results:

• Overall BA usage declined from 8 days/6 months to 3-4 days/6 months over 4 years.
• Three distinct utilization profiles emerged: consistently low usage (n=40), declining usage (n=14), and sustained high usage (n=8).
• High-usage participants reported greater impairments but high satisfaction, valuing BA's structured support and security.

Conclusions:

• BA serves as self-care and a pathway to broader psychiatric support, especially for those with significant impairments.
• Sustained high BA users value its structured support, autonomy, and security.
• Optimizing long-term BA effectiveness requires addressing structural barriers, access issues, and stigma through better integration with psychiatric services.