Compliance with the criteria of involuntary admission in China's Mental Health Law: a national cross-sectional study of patients admitted to hospital involuntarily

Abstract

BackgroundChina's Mental Health Law was implemented in 2013 to provide a legal foundation to protect patients' rights and provide involuntary treatment for patients at high risk of suicide or self-injury, or of harming others, or both. However, the law has not been thoroughly examined since its implementation. This study aimed to examine compliance of major psychiatric hospitals in China with the criteria of involuntary admission defined in the Mental Health Law. MethodsAs part of a national survey, we collected data from discharged inpatients from 32 tertiary psychiatric hospitals across all 31 provinces of China. We manually retrieved patients' admission information from discharge medical records, and calculated the proportion of the patients who met the criteria of involuntary admission. FindingsWe included data from 1663 (93%) of 1780 discharged inpatients from all hospitals. 814 (49%) of 1663 patients were admitted to hospital involuntarily. 369 (45%) of these 814 patients were admitted because of risks of suicide or self-injury, or of harming others, or both, as defined in the Mental Health Law. Among the 369 patients, 85 (23%) had risk of suicide or self-injury, 310 (84%) had risk of harming others, and 26 (7%) had both. The rest of the patients who were admitted involuntarily, although needing treatment, did not meet the Mental Health Law-defined criteria for involuntary admission. InterpretationThe number of involuntary admissions in major psychiatric hospitals in China is high. Fewer than half of the patients who were admitted involuntarily met the criteria for involuntary admission, as defined by the Mental Health Law. Psychiatric hospitals and clinicians need to be mindful of balancing the safety of patients or others and avoiding the unnecessary restriction of patients' freedom. FundingBeijing Medical and Health Foundation.