BackgroundViolence in acute psychiatric wards affects the safety of other patients and the effectiveness of treatment. However, there is a wide variation in reported rates of violence in acute psychiatric wards.ObjectivesTo use meta-analysis to estimate the pooled rate of violence in published studies, and examine the characteristics of the participants, and aspects of the studies themselves that might explain the variation in the reported rates of violence (moderators).MethodSystematic meta-analysis of studies published between January 1995 and December 2014, which reported rates of violence in acute psychiatric wards of general or psychiatric hospitals in high-income countries.ResultsOf the 23,972 inpatients described in 35 studies, the pooled proportion of patients who committed at least one act of violence was 17% (95% confidence interval (CI) 14–20%). Studies with higher proportions of male patients, involuntary patients, patients with schizophrenia and patients with alcohol use disorder reported higher rates of inpatient violence.ConclusionThe findings of this study suggest that almost 1 in 5 patients admitted to acute psychiatric units may commit an act of violence. Factors associated with levels of violence in psychiatric units are similar to factors that are associated with violence among individual patients (male gender, diagnosis of schizophrenia, substance use and lifetime history of violence).

Epidemiological studies have examined the relative importance of Traumatic Events (TEs) in accounting for the societal burden of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, most studies used the worst trauma experienced, which can lead to an overestimation of the conditional risk of PTSD. Although a number of epidemiological surveys on PTSD have been carried out in the United States, only a few studies in limited sample have been conducted in Italy. This study, carried out in the framework of the World Mental Health Survey Initiative, is a cross-sectional household survey of a representative sample of the Italian adult population. Lifetime prevalence of traumatic events (TEs) and 12-month prevalence of PTSD were evaluated using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). Reports of PTSD associated with randomly selected TEs were weighted by the individual-level probabilities of TE selection to generate estimates of population-level PTSD risk associated with each TE. Network events was the most commonly reported TE (29.4%). War events had the highest conditional risk of PTSD (12.2%). The TEs that contributed most to societal PTSD burden were unexpected death of a loved one (24.1%) and having seen atrocities (18.2%). Being female was related to high risk of PTSD after experiencing a TE. Exposure to network events is commonly reported among Italian adults, but two TE are responsible for the highest burden associated with PTSD: the unexpected death of someone close and sexual assault. These results can help designing public health interventions to reduce the societal PTSD burden.

The aim of this scoping review is to synthesize the available evidence on the prevalence rates of healthcare workers being victims of violence perpetrated by patients and visitors in Italy. PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and CINAHL were systematically searched from their inception to April 2021. Two authors independently assessed 1182 studies. All the scientific papers written in English or in Italian reporting primary quantitative and/or qualitative data on the prevalence of aggression or sexual harassment perpetrated by patients or visitors toward healthcare workers in Italy were included. Thirty-two papers were included in the review. The data extracted were summarized in a narrative synthesis organized in the following six thematic domains: 1. Methodology and study design; 2. Description of violent behavior; 3. Characteristics of health care staff involved in workplace violence (WPV); 4. Prevalence and form of WPV; 5. Context of WPV; and 6. Characteristics of violent patients and their relatives and/or visitors. The proportion of studies on WPV differed greatly across Italian regions, wards and professional roles of the healthcare workers. In general, the prevalence of WPV against healthcare workers in Italy is high, especially in psychiatric and emergency departments and among nurses and physicians, but further studies are needed in order to gather systematic evidence of this phenomenon. In Italy, and worldwide, there is an urgent need for governments, policy-makers and health institutions to prevent, monitor and manage WPV towards healthcare professionals.

The increased risk of violence in schizophrenia has been linked to several environmental, clinical and neuropsychological factors, including executive dysfunction.However, data about the nature of these effects are mixed and controversial. The main aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between clinical and neuropsychological factors with violence risk in patients with schizophrenia, taking into account current psychopathology and lifetime alcohol use. We compared a sample of patients living inResidential Facilities (RFs) with schizophrenia and a past history of interpersonal violence (vSZ, N=50) to patients with schizophrenia matched on age, gender and alcohol abuse/dependence but with no violence history (nvSZ, N=37). We then established the association between the clinical and neuropsychological factors that predicted violence over a 1 year follow-up period. The results revealed that vSZ patients living in RFs were characterized by greater compulsory hospital admissions, higher anger and less negative symptoms as compared to nvSZ patients. vSZ patients performed better on executive and motor tasks than nvSZ; however, these differences appeared to be explained by the lower negative psychotic symptom in the vSZ group. Both groups were involved in episodes of violence during the follow-up period; among the two, the vSZ patients were more likely to be violent. Negative symptoms predicted less verbal aggression at 1 year follow-up.Overall, these findings support a key role of negative rather than positive symptoms in driving violence risk among SZ patients living in RFs, in a manner that negative symptoms are linked to a lower risk of violence.

Background A growing number of severely ill patients require long-term care in non-hospital residential facilities (RFs). Despite the magnitude of this development, longitudinal studies surveying fairly large resident samples and yielding important information on this population have been very few. Aims The aims of the study were (1) to describe the socio-demographic, clinical, and treatment-related characteristics of RF patients during an index period in 2010; (2) to identify predictors and characteristics associated with discharge at the 1-year follow-up; (3) to evaluate clinicians' predictions about each patient's likelihood of home discharge (HD). Methods A prospective observational cohort study was conducted involving all patients staying in 23 mediumlong-term RFs of the St John of God Order with a primary psychiatric diagnosis. A comprehensive set of sociodemographic, clinical, and treatment-related information was gathered and standardized assessments (BPRS, HO-NOS, PSP, PHI, SLOF, RBANS) were administered to each participant. Logistic regression analyses were run to identify independent discharge predictors. Results The study involved 403 patients (66.7 % male), with a mean age of 49 years (SD = 10). The participants' average illness duration was 23 years; median value for length of stay in the RF was 2.2 years. The most frequent diagnosis was schizophrenia (67.5 %). 104 (25.8 %) were discharged: 13.6 % to home, 8.2 % to other RFs, 2.2 % to supported housing, and 1.5 % to prison. Clinicians' predictions about HD were generally erroneous. Conclusions Very few patients were discharged to independent accommodations after 1 year. The main variables associated with a higher HD likelihood were: illness duration of \15 years and effective social support during the previous year. Lower severity of psychopathology and higher working skill levels were also associated with a significantly greater HD likelihood.

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The GET UP multi-element psychosocial intervention proved to be superior to treatment as usual in improving outcomes in patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP). However, to guide treatment decisions, information on which patients may benefit more from the intervention is warranted.To identify patients' characteristics associated with (a) a better treatment response regardless of treatment type (non-specific predictors), and (b) a better response to the specific treatment provided (moderators).Some demographic and clinical variables were selected as potential predictors/moderators of outcomes at 9 months. Outcomes were analysed in mixed-effects random regression models. (Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01436331)Analyses were performed on 444 patients. Education, duration of untreated psychosis, premorbid adjustment and insight predicted outcomes regardless of treatment. Only age at first contact with the services proved to be a moderator of treatment outcome (patients aged ⩾35 years had greater improvement in psychopathology), thus suggesting that the intervention is beneficial to a broad array of patients with FEP.Except for patients aged over 35 years, no specific subgroups benefit more from the multi-element psychosocial intervention, suggesting that this intervention should be recommended to all those with FEP seeking treatment in mental health services.

a b s t r a c tQuality of life (QOL) has been considered an important outcome measure in psychiatric research and determinants of QOL have been widely investigated. We aimed at detecting predictors of QOL at baseline and at testing the longitudinal interrelations of the baseline predictors with QOL scores at a 1-year follow-up in a sample of patients living in Residential Facilities (RFs). Logistic regression models were adopted to evaluate the association between WHOQoL-Bref scores and potential determinants of QOL. In addition, all variables significantly associated with QOL domains in the final logistic regression model were included by using the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). We included 139 patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia spectrum. In the final logistic regression model level of activity, social support, age, service satisfaction, spiritual well-being and symptoms' severity were identified as predictors of QOL scores at baseline. Longitudinal analyses carried out by SEM showed that 40% of QOL follow-up variability was explained by QOL at baseline, and significant indirect effects toward QOL at follow-up were found for satisfaction with services and for social support. Rehabilitation plans for people with schizophrenia living in RFs should also consider mediators of change in subjective QOL such as satisfaction with mental health services.