Patients' experiences of coercive treatment and coercive measures in psychiatric care

Background

To study coercive treatment like forced medication and coercive measures like seclusion and mechanical restraint during inpatient psychiatric care among committed and voluntarily admitted patients and also to study patients attitudes to coercive treatment and measures.

Methods

A consecutive sample of 118 committed and a random sample of 116 voluntarily admitted patients were interviewed within five days of admission, using the Nordic Admission Interview (NorAI), and at discharge or after three weeks of care.

Results

Forced medication was reported by 48% of the committed and by 3% of the voluntarily admitted patients. Ninety-five % of the committed patients thought it was a negative experience when it happened and 89% thought it was wrong. At discharge or after three 3 weeks of care 73% of the committed patients thought it was wrong. Nineteen patients reported mechanical restraint, all of them committed. Eighty-four percent of them thought it was a negative experience and 74% thought it was wrong when it happened. At discharge or after 3 weeks of care 68% thought it was wrong when it happened. Seclusion was reported by seven committed and one voluntarily admitted patient. Of those committed patients five patients thought it was a negative experience and wrong.

Conclusion

A majority of those who reported coercive treatment and coercive measures during inpatient psychiatric care thought it was wrong when it happened and did not change their attitude at discharge or after 3 weeks of care. Predictors associated to these results will be analyzed.