Jack Tomlin1, Ilaria Lega2, Peter Braun3, Harry G Kennedy4,5, Vicente Tort Herrando6, Ricardo Barroso7, Luca Castelletti8, Fiorino Mirabella9, Franco Scarpa10, Birgit Völlm11. 1. Department of Forensic Psychiatry, University of Rostock, Gehlsheimer Straße 20, 18147, Rostock, Germany. jack.tomlin@med.uni-rostock.de. 2. Woman, Child and Adolescent Health Unit, National Center for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Italian National Institute of Health, Rome, Italy. 3. Pompe Foundation Department LFPC, Forensic Psychiatric Hospital, Zeeland, The Netherlands. 4. National Forensic Mental Health Service, Central Mental Hospital, Dundrum, Ireland. 5. Department of Psychiatry, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland. 6. Unitat Polivalent de Psiquaitria Quatre Camins, Penitentiary Psychiatry, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Deu, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain. 7. Department of Education and Psychology, University of Tras-Os-Montes and Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal. 8. Azuenda Ospedaliera Carlo Poma, Matov, Italy. 9. Center for Behavioural Sciences and Mental Health, Italian National Institute of Health, Rome, Italy. 10. Department of Forensic Services, USL Toscana Centro, Florence, Italy. 11. Department of Forensic Psychiatry, University of Rostock, Gehlsheimer Straße 20, 18147, Rostock, Germany.
Abstract
PURPOSE: While the number of forensic beds and the duration of psychiatric forensic psychiatric treatment have increased in several European Union (EU) states, this is not observed in others. Patient demographics, average lengths of stay and legal frameworks also differ substantially. The lack of basic epidemiological information on forensic patients and of shared indicators on forensic care within Europe is an obstacle to comparative research. The reasons for such variation are not well understood. METHODS: Experts from seventeen EU states submitted data on forensic bed prevalence rates, gender distributions and average length of stay in forensic in-patient facilities. Average length of stay and bed prevalence rates were examined for associations with country-level variables including Gross Domestic Product (GDP), expenditure on healthcare, prison population, general psychiatric bed prevalence rates and democracy index scores. RESULTS: The data demonstrated substantial differences between states. Average length of stay was approximately ten times greater in the Netherlands than Slovenia. In England and Wales, 18% of patients were female compared to 5% in Slovenia. There was a 17-fold difference in forensic bed rates per 100,000 between the Netherlands and Spain. Exploratory analyses suggested average length of stay was associated with GDP, expenditure on healthcare and democracy index scores. CONCLUSION: The data presented in this study represent the most recent overview of key epidemiological data in forensic services across seventeen EU states. However, systematically collected epidemiological data of good quality remain elusive in forensic psychiatry. States need to develop common definitions and recording practices and contribute to a publicly available database of such epidemiological indicators.
PURPOSE: While the number of forensic beds and the duration of psychiatric forensic psychiatric treatment have increased in several European Union (EU) states, this is not observed in others. Patient demographics, average lengths of stay and legal frameworks also differ substantially. The lack of basic epidemiological information on forensic patients and of shared indicators on forensic care within Europe is an obstacle to comparative research. The reasons for such variation are not well understood. METHODS: Experts from seventeen EU states submitted data on forensic bed prevalence rates, gender distributions and average length of stay in forensic in-patient facilities. Average length of stay and bed prevalence rates were examined for associations with country-level variables including Gross Domestic Product (GDP), expenditure on healthcare, prison population, general psychiatric bed prevalence rates and democracy index scores. RESULTS: The data demonstrated substantial differences between states. Average length of stay was approximately ten times greater in the Netherlands than Slovenia. In England and Wales, 18% of patients were female compared to 5% in Slovenia. There was a 17-fold difference in forensic bed rates per 100,000 between the Netherlands and Spain. Exploratory analyses suggested average length of stay was associated with GDP, expenditure on healthcare and democracy index scores. CONCLUSION: The data presented in this study represent the most recent overview of key epidemiological data in forensic services across seventeen EU states. However, systematically collected epidemiological data of good quality remain elusive in forensic psychiatry. States need to develop common definitions and recording practices and contribute to a publicly available database of such epidemiological indicators.
Authors: Stefan Priebe; Patrick Frottier; Andrea Gaddini; Reinhold Kilian; Christoph Lauber; Rafael Martínez-Leal; Povl Munk-Jørgensen; Dermot Walsh; Durk Wiersma; Donna Wright Journal: Psychiatr Serv Date: 2008-05 Impact factor: 3.084
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Authors: R Oberndorfer; R W Alexandrowicz; A Unger; M Koch; I Markiewicz; P Gosek; J Heitzman; L Iozzino; C Ferrari; H-J Salize; M Picchioni; H Fangerau; T Stompe; J Wancata; G de Girolamo Journal: Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol Date: 2022-07-15 Impact factor: 4.519