Profile and costs involved in long-term compulsory hospitalization of psychiatric patients

Abstract

Objective: Involuntary hospitalization for acute psychiatry cases can be acceptable when there is potential harm. However, there are few reasons for a patient committed on these grounds to stay in an institution for a long period. The objective of the present study was to identify the profile and costs of compulsory hospitalizations over 20 days in a public psychiatric hospital in the coastal region of the state of Sã o Paulo. Methods: Retrospective data were collected from the medical records of 1,064 patients admitted between July 2013 and June 2016 from an intensive mental healthcare unit in Santos, state of Sã o Paulo, Brazil. Results: Records were found of 527 patients who had been hospitalized for at least 21 days during the study period. Long-term hospitalization related to judicial mandates represented 5.9% of the total sample. These patients stayed in the hospital for an average period of 142 days, while patients hospitalized for any other reason stayed an average period of 35 days (p o 0.001). The cost of a longterm court-ordered hospitalization averaged US$ 21,311 per patient. Conclusion: Judicial mandate has been an important reason for the long-term hospitalization of chronic psychiatric patients in Santos, Brazil.

Psychiatric advance directives facilitated by peer workers among people with mental illness: economic evaluation of a randomized controlled trial (DAiP study)

“…Several studies show that these episodes of deprivation of liberty constitute a very negative experience (Nyttingnes et al ., 2016 ; Sibitz et al ., 2011 ), affecting quality of life (Swanson et al ., 2003 ), with little evidence of effectiveness in terms of health status, social functioning and use of services (Hofmann et al ., 2022 ). The overall cost of compulsory hospitalizations has scarcely been studied (Venturini et al ., 2017 ).…”