Author:
Bartl Gergely,Stuart Ruth,Ahmed Nafiso,Saunders Katherine,Loizou Sofia,Brady Grainne,Gray Hannah,Grundy Andrew,Jeynes Tamar,Nyikavaranda Patrick,Persaud Karen,Raad Ari,Foye Una,Simpson Alan,Johnson Sonia,Lloyd-Evans Brynmor
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Compulsory admissions occur in psychiatric hospitals around the world. They result in coercive and sometimes traumatic experiences for service users and carers. Legal and service reforms in various countries are intended to reduce rates of detention and improve service user experience. We aimed to inform policy and service delivery by providing an up-to-date synthesis of qualitative evidence on service users’ and carers’ experiences of assessment and detention under mental health legislation, updating previous reviews in which we searched for literature published up to 2018.
Methods
We searched five bibliographic databases for studies published between January 2018 and March 2023. We identified 24 additional studies reporting qualitative investigations of service users’ or carers’ experiences of assessment or detention under mental health legislation. A team including researchers with relevant personal experience analysed and synthesised data using a thematic synthesis approach.
Results
Findings suggest that views on compulsory admissions and assessment varied: many reports highlighted its often negative, traumatic impacts on emotional well-being and self-worth, with fewer accounts of it as an opportunity to access help and support, accompanied by feelings of relief. Experiences of racial discrimination, inequality of access, and dissatisfaction with support before and after hospital stay were more prominent than in our previous reviews.
Conclusions
Increasing service user and carer involvement in treatment decisions, provision of timely information at key stages of the admission process, training of key personnel, addressing the issue of discrimination, and investing in community alternatives of inpatient care may contribute to and lead to better overall treatment experiences.
Protocol registration
The study protocol has been registered in the PROSPERO database on 30th May 2023 (CRD42023423439).
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
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