Inpatient care for emerging adults affected by mental health disorders

Psychiatric hospital experiences that support and frustrate emerging adults' psychological needs: A self‐determination theory perspective

“…Unfortunately, few custom‐designed emerging adult inpatient programs have been developed (Murcott, 2016; Nolin et al, 2016), leaving emerging adults to receive treatment in adult or child systems, which may be less satisfying (Haynes et al, 2011; Kuosmanen et al, 2006). There are many likely contributors to this service gap, such as insufficient healthcare funding, limited awareness of the importance of youth‐oriented inpatient care, and a lack of knowledge about how to design the hospital environment to support the recovery of emerging adults (Gaine et al, 2021; O'Donoghue, 2018).…”

“…A comprehensive approach to the needs of emerging adults with mental illness requires the availability of youth-appropriate care across the full continuum of service settings, from accessible community hubs to emerging adult inpatient programs (Mental Health Commission of Canada, 2015). Significant progress has been made in the implementation and evaluation of youth hubs that provide integrated physical health, mental health, and social services in single community locations (Hetrick et al, 2017), as well as toward specialized early psychosis intervention programs (McGorry et al, 2008); however, comparatively little progress has been made toward the development of emerging adult inpatient settings (O'Donoghue, 2018). This gap in service development is concerning given that typical inpatient hospitalization can involve adverse experiences, such as seclusion, restraint, or traumatic events (Cusack et al, 2003;Reddy & Spaulding, 2010); further, following deinstitutionalization, the number of psychiatric beds has decreased (Lee et al, 2012;Sealy & Whitehead, 2004;Tulloch et al, 2011), resulting in more shortterm hospital settings serving heterogeneous clinical populations that focus on rapid symptom stabilization and safety over growth and developmentally appropriate care.…”