BACKGROUND Dropping out during the course of medical follow up is defined as an early therapy withdrawal without the agreement of the therapist. In a psychiatric crisis unit in Geneva, we empirically observed that almost 50% of the patients were not showing up to their first appointments, which were scheduled for 3 to 7 days post discharge. METHODS The aim of this naturalistic descriptive coh...

OBJECTIVE This paper aims to explore the options available for developing community-based care and improving the quality of care in psychiatric hospitals in Ghana. METHOD Semi-structured interviews (SSIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted: with a cross-section of stakeholders including health professionals, researchers, policy makers, politicians, users and carers. The SSIs an...

In psychiatric hospitals a variety of health team professionals contribute to the provision of services which help patients re-enter and function independently within the community. The therapeutic recreation specialist, as a member of the team, is responsible for addressing the individual's leisure-related needs. To facilitate change, team members employ a defined systematic process consisting...

BACKGROUND The involuntary admission regulated under the Mental Health Act has become an increasingly important issue in the developed countries in recent years. Most studies about the distribution and associated factors of involuntary admission were carried out in the western countries; however, the results may vary in different areas with different legal and socio-cultural backgrounds. AIMS...

Only a small proportion of the treatment of mental illness occurs in an institution or hospital. By far the most significant treatment happens in the community and in the patient's own social and family environment. However, de-institutionalisation of mental health services has brought increasing numbers of patients to the emergency department in need of psychiatric assistance. The traditional ...

During the 1983 year all patient presentations to the University of Miami Psychiatric Emergency Service (PES) at Jackson Memorial Hospital, a large county hospital, were screened by the author through patient rounds and chart review for the presence of the Capgras delusion (strictly defined). Within 4,200 unduplicated patient presentations, 6 cases were determined to have a Capgras delusion: i....

Throughout decades of deinstitutionalization, the primary purpose of psychiatric emergency facilities has been defined as rapid referral of patients, triaging those who need 'emergent' care for their mental or emotional problems from those who do not. However, a merely triage-based conceptualization of the psychiatric emergency room does not take into account the ever increasing number of patie...

PURPOSE To identify barriers to family care in psychiatric settings and to describe family and provider perspectives about what constitutes effective family care. DESIGN AND METHODS A qualitative exploratory approach with focus groups. Seventy-eight people participated in 11 focus groups conducted with families, patients, and health professionals. FINDINGS Families identified poor quality c...

There is controversy concerning the proper treatment of psychiatric patients in the emergency department. Emergency physicians commonly use physical or chemical restraints or both in the course of treating psychiatric patients. This review applies the rigors of an evidence-based evaluation of the literature concerning the choices of treatment for these patients.

To study the views of staff and patients on the use of sniffer dogs to detect illicit drugs and the prosecution of in-patients suspected of taking illicit drugs. A 15-item selfreport questionnaire was given to all in-patients and staff who had any contact with patients in a mediumsecure unit. Responses to the individual statements were measured on a five-point Likert scale and staff and patient...