Abstract
Background: The treatment and hospitalization of psychiatric patients has been a dilemma for many years. Many countries have different specific legislations regarding the hospitalization and treatment of mental patients. Objective: In the current study, 4100 voluntary/involuntary psychiatric admissions and readmissions to a university hospital in Turkey were investigated, and patient groups were compared in terms of demographic variables and psychiatric diagnoses based on DSM IV-TR. Methods: The records of patients who had been hospitalized approximately 4–6 weeks were reviewed by two psychiatrists, and the patients were then divided into groups on the basis of single/multiple admissions and voluntary/involuntary admissions. The groups were compared based on psychiatric diagnoses. Results: Schizophrenia was the most common diagnosis in 71.5% (n = 865) of patients with multiple admissions. The second most common diagnosis was bipolar affective disorder with 13.1% (n = 159). The rate of schizophrenia in both voluntary and involuntary hospitalizations was significant (34.5% and 54.6%, respectively). However, depression, the second most common diagnosis requiring hospitalization with a rate of 23.2% of voluntary hospitalizations, accounted for only 3.7% of involuntary hospitalizations. Conclusion: Males constituted almost 75% of the single admission group. This difference may result from the socioeconomic and cultural profile of Turkey, as mental disorders make marriage impossible and are hidden in females suffering from them. Different findings from different cultures on single/multiple admissions and voluntary/involuntary admissions of patients lead to the conclusion that specific legislation covering treatment or hospitalization for mental disorders is needed in every country.
Highlights
The treatment and hospitalization of psychiatric patients has been a dilemma for many years
The World Health Organization (WHO) expert committees in mental health over the past 40 years have called attention to the need to consider legal matters in various fields of mental health including the hospitalization of mental patients and the development of community–based mental health services.[1]
When all findings are evaluated together, it is obvious that involuntary hospitalizations are more frequent than
Summary
The treatment and hospitalization of psychiatric patients has been a dilemma for many years. Different findings from different cultures on single/multiple admissions and voluntary/involuntary admissions of patients lead to the conclusion that specific legislation covering treatment or hospitalization for mental disorders is needed in every country. The selection included countries of varying population sizes, levels of socioeconomic development, political systems, structures and histories, cultural backgrounds, patterns of health services, and mental health care systems.[1] Twelve countries were found to have no specific legislation covering treatment or hospitalization for mental disorders. These countries were classified as operating under informal systems. There was no effective data for Turkey in this survey
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