Measuring the level of compulsory hospitalisation in mental health care: The performance of different measures across areas and over time

Variation in Psychiatric Hospitalisations: A Multiple-Membership Multiple-Classification Analysis

The complexity of variation in healthcare, particularly in mental health, remains poorly understood. However, addressing this issue presents an opportunity to opti-mise the allocation of scarce healthcare resources. To explore this, we investigated the variation in psychiatric care measured as the number of psychiatric hospitalisations. We estimated multiple-membership multiple-classification models utilising Danish register data for 64,694 individuals and their healthcare providers, including 2101 general practitioners, 146 community-based care institutions, 46 hospital departments, and 98 municipalities. This approach recognised that data are not strictly hierarchical. We found that, among individuals attending a single healthcare provider, 67.4% of the total variance in the number of hospitalisations corresponds to differences between individuals, 22.6% to differences between healthcare providers' geographical location, 7.02% to differences between healthcare providers, and 3% to differences between the geographical locations of the individuals. Adding characteristics to the model ex-plained 68.5% of the variance at the healthcare provider geographical level, but almost no explanation of the variation was found on the three other levels despite the nu-merous characteristics considered. This suggests that medical practice may vary un-warrantedly between healthcare providers, indicating potential for optimisation. Streamlining medical practices, such as adhering to clinical guidelines, could lead to more efficient supply of mental health resources. In conclusion, understanding and addressing variation in psychiatric care may impact resource allocation and patient outcomes, ultimately leading to a more effective healthcare system.

Expert opinions on improving coercion data collection across Europe: a concept mapping study

Introduction

Coercion is frequently used in mental health practice. Since it overrides some patients' fundamental human rights, adequate use of coercion requires legal and ethical justifications. Having internationally standardised datasets to benchmark and monitor coercion reduction programs is desirable. However, only a few countries have specific, open, publicly accessible registries for this issue.

Methods

This study aims to assemble expert opinions regarding strategies that might be feasible for promoting, developing, and implementing an integrated and differentiated coercion data collection system in Europe at national and international levels. A concept mapping methodology was followed, involving 59 experts from 27 countries in generating, sorting and rating strategies regarding relevance and feasibility. The experts were all researchers and/or practitioner members of an EU-COST-Action focused on coercion reduction Fostering and Strengthening Approaches to Reducing Coercion in European Mental Health Services (FOSTREN).

Results

A hierarchical cluster analysis revealed a conceptual map of 41 strategies organized in seven clusters. These clusters fit into two higher-order domains: "Advancing Global Health Research: Collaboration, Accessibility, and Technological Innovations/Advancing International Research" and "Strategies for Comprehensive Healthcare Data Integration, Standardization, and Collaboration." Regarding the action with the higher priority, relevance was generally rated higher than feasibility. No differences could be found regarding the two domains regarding the relevance rating or feasibility of the respective strategies in those domains. The following strategies were rated as most relevant: "Collection of reliable data", "Implementation of nationwide register, including data on coercive measures", and "Equal understanding of different coercive measures". In analysing the differences in strategies between countries and their health prosperity, the overall rating did not differ substantially between the groups.

Conclusion

The strategy rated as most relevant was the collection of reliable data in the nationwide health register, ensuring that countries share a standard understanding/definition of different coercive measures. Respondents did not consider the feasibility of establishing a shared European database for coercive measures to be high, nor did they envision the unification of mental health legislation in the future. There is some consensus on the most suitable strategies that can be adopted to enable international benchmarking of coercion in mental health settings.

Which factors affect job satisfaction of doctors in psychiatry?

BACKGROUND

Recent reports have described challenges in retaining and recruiting psychiatrists in public mental health care. To improve the work situation for doctors, the Norwegian Psychiatric Association (NPA) conducted surveys to explore job satisfaction among its members. The purpose of this study is to explore how doctors in mental health services perceive their work, and factors affecting their job satisfaction.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A Questback survey was sent to all employed members of NPA in June 2020 and in December 2021. In the first survey, 670 members (37%) responded and 903 (43%) in the second. Job satisfaction was measured on a Likert scale from one to five. Linear regression was used to examine associations between work-related factors and job satisfaction.

RESULTS

In 2021, more than half of the respondents (56%) were satisfied, 16% were dissatisfied and 27% were neutral. The oldest and youngest doctors were most satisfied (p < 0.001). Partial treatment responsibility was related to reduced job satisfaction (β = -0.23, p < 0.001) as well as access to an experienced colleague (β = 0.39, p < 0.001), time for direct patient contact (β = 0.17, p < 0.001) and ability to treat patients in a satisfactory manner (β = 0.52, p < 0.001). Job satisfaction decreased from 2020 to 2021.

CONCLUSIONS

Psychiatrists seem to be torn between treating their own patients and having medically responsible for other therapists' patients. Time for patient contact and discussions with colleagues are crucial for psychiatrists' well-being at work.

Long term outcomes and causal modelling of compulsory inpatient and outpatient mental health care using Norwegian registry data: Protocol for a controversies in psychiatry research project

OBJECTIVES

Compulsory mental health care includes compulsory hospitalisation and outpatient commitment with medication treatment without consent. Uncertain evidence of the effects of compulsory care contributes to large geographical variations and a controversy on its use. Some argue that compulsion can rarely be justified and should be reduced to an absolute minimum, while others claim compulsion can more frequently be justified. The limited evidence base has contributed to variations in care that raise issues about the quality/appropriateness of care as well as ethical concerns. To address the question whether compulsory mental health care results in superior, worse or equivalent outcomes for patients, this project will utilise registry-based longitudinal data to examine the effect of compulsory inpatient and outpatient care on multiple outcomes, including suicide and overall mortality; emergency care/injuries; crime and victimisation; and participation in the labour force and welfare dependency.

METHODS

By using the natural variation in health providers' preference for compulsory care as a source of quasi-randomisation we will estimate causal effects of compulsory care on short- and long-term trajectories.

CONCLUSIONS

This project will provide valuable insights for service providers and policy makers in facilitating high quality clinical care pathways for a high risk population group.

Geographic variation in the utilisation of specialist healthcare for patients with severe mental illness in Norway: a population-based registry study

PURPOSE

The aim of this study is to measure geographic variations in mental healthcare service utilisation among patients with severe mental illness in Norway.

METHOD

We analysed data from the Norwegian patient registry for 2014-2018 for patients with severe mental illness. The outcomes measured in this study were: outpatient contact, admission, bed days and total contact rates. Total contacts were calculated as the sum of observed outpatient contacts plus four times the hospital bed days for each hospital catchment area based on the Norwegian health director's report on clinical activity and patient treatment cost. Geographic variations were measured using extreme quotient (EQ), coefficient of variation (CV) and systematic component of variation (SCV). Maps, figures, and tables were used to visualise geographic variation.

RESULTS

The geographic variations saw a six-fold increase in the outpatient contact rate and a three-fold increase in the admission rate between the areas with lowest rate and areas with the highest rate. However, there was low geographic variation in calculated total contact rates (Eqs. 5 - 95 =1.77). The low-level geographic variation in the total calculated contact rate was also confirmed with an SCV of less than three.

CONCLUSION

The levels of geographic variations in the utilisation of outpatient and inpatient mental healthcare services among patients with severe mental illness are high. However, the geographic variation in total services provided by hospital catchment areas calculating the two service modalities together using their treatment cost ratio, is low. This may reflect the relatively equal performance of hospital catchment areas in terms of resource utilisation regardless which service modality they prioritise. Factors contributing to high geographic variation in individual service modalities need further investigation.

Increasing person-centeredness in psychosis inpatient care: care consumption before and after a person-centered care intervention

BACKGROUND

Patients with psychotic disorders often need hospitalization with long stays. Person-centered care (PCC) has been shown to improve care quality and decrease the length of hospital stay in non-psychiatric settings. We carried out an educational intervention for inpatient staff, aiming to increase person-centeredness at a major Swedish psychosis clinic. The aim of this study was to test if the intervention could be associated with decreased length of hospital stay (LoS), involuntary stay (LoIS), and reduction in rapid readmissions.

METHODS

Data from the clinic's administrative registry were compared for patients with a discharge diagnosis within the schizophrenia-spectrum treated during the one-year periods before and after the PCC intervention.

RESULTS

Contrary to our hypotheses, a quantile regression estimated longer LoS post-intervention, median difference 10.4 d (CI 4.73-16.10). Neither age, sex nor diagnostic category were associated with LoS. Of all inpatient days, ∼80% were involuntary. While LoIS was numerically longer post-intervention, the difference did not reach significance in the final regression model (median difference 7.95 d, CI -1.40 to 17.31). Proportions with readmission within 2 weeks of discharge did not differ (7.7% vs 5.2%, n.s.).

CONCLUSIONS

Increased length of inpatient care was observed after the PCPC intervention. This could reflect an increased focus on the unmet needs of persons with serious psychotic conditions, but it needs to be explored in future research using a more rigorous study design.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

This study is part of a larger evaluation of Person-Centered Psychosis Care (PCPC), registered during data collection (after the study start, before analysis) at clinicaltrials.gov, identifier NCT03182283.

The relationship between area levels of involuntary psychiatric care and patient outcomes: a longitudinal national register study from Norway

BACKGROUND

Mental health legislation permits involuntary care of patients with severe mental disorders who meet set legal criteria. The Norwegian Mental Health Act assumes this will improve health and reduce risk of deterioration and death. Professionals have warned against potentially adverse effects of recent initiatives to heighten involuntary care thresholds, but no studies have investigated whether high thresholds have adverse effects.

AIM

To test the hypothesis that areas with lower levels of involuntary care show higher levels of morbidity and mortality in their severe mental disorder populations over time compared to areas with higher levels. Data availability precluded analyses of the effect on health and safety of others.

METHODS

Using national data, we calculated standardized (by age, sex, and urbanicity) involuntary care ratios across Community Mental Health Center areas in Norway. For patients diagnosed with severe mental disorders (ICD10 F20-31), we tested whether lower area ratios in 2015 was associated with 1) case fatality over four years, 2) an increase in inpatient days, and 3) time to first episode of involuntary care over the following two years. We also assessed 4) whether area ratios in 2015 predicted an increase in the number of patients diagnosed with F20-31 in the subsequent two years and whether 5) standardized involuntary care area ratios in 2014-2017 predicted an increase in the standardized suicide ratios in 2014-2018. Analyses were prespecified (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04655287).

RESULTS

We found no adverse effects on patients' health in areas with lower standardized involuntary care ratios. The standardization variables age, sex, and urbanicity explained 70.5% of the variance in raw rates of involuntary care.

CONCLUSIONS

Lower standardized involuntary care ratios are not associated with adverse effects for patients with severe mental disorders in Norway. This finding merits further research of the way involuntary care works.

Systematic literature review of the use of Staff Attitudes to Coercion Scale (SACS)

Objective

Staff's attitudes to the use of coercion may influence the number of coercive interventions employed and staff willingness to engage in professional development projects aimed at reducing the use of coercion itself. The Staff Attitude to Coercion Scale (SACS) was developed to assess the attitudes of mental healthcare staff to the use of coercion in 2008 and has been employed subsequently. This global study systematically reviews and summarizes the use of the scale in research.

Methods

Seven databases were searched for studies using SACS in articles published in peer reviewed journals and gray literature. In addition, researchers who have asked for permission to use the scale since its development in 2008 were contacted and asked for their possible results. Extracting of data from the papers were performed in pairs of the authors.

Results

Of the 82 identified publications, 26 papers with 5,838 respondents were selected for review. A review of the research questions used in the studies showed that the SACS questionnaire was mostly used in studies of interventions aimed at reducing coercion and further explain variation in the use of coercion.

Conclusion

SACS is, to our best of knowledge, the only questionnaire measuring staff's attitudes to the use of coercive interventions in mental health services. Its widespread use indicates that the questionnaire is perceived as feasible and useful as well as demonstrating the need for such a tool. However, further research is needed as the relationship between staff attitudes to coercion and the actual use of coercion remains unclear and needs to be further investigated. Staff attitudes to coercion may be a prerequisite for leaders and staff in mental healthcare to engage in service development and quality improvement projects.

Geographical variation in compulsory hospitalisation - ethical challenges

BACKGROUND

Compulsory hospitalisation in mental health care restricts patients' liberty and is experienced as harmful by many. Such hospitalisations continue to be used due to their assumed benefit, despite limited scientific evidence. Observed geographical variation in compulsory hospitalisation raises concern that rates are higher and lower than necessary in some areas.

METHODS/DISCUSSION

We present a specific normative ethical analysis of how geographical variation in compulsory hospitalisation challenges four core principles of health care ethics. We then consider the theoretical possibility of a "right", or appropriate, level of compulsory hospitalisation, as a general norm for assessing the moral divergence, i.e., too little, or too much. Finally, we discuss implications of our analysis and how they can inform the future direction of mental health services.

Ethical issues with geographical variations in the provision of health care services

Geographical variations are documented for a wide range of health care services. As many such variations cannot be explained by demographical or epidemiological differences, they are problematic with respect to distributive justice, quality of care, and health policy. Despite much attention, geographical variations prevail. One reason for this can be that the ethical issues of geographical variations are rarely addressed explicitly. Accordingly, the objective of this article is to analyse the ethical aspects of geographical variations in the provision of health services. Applying a principlist approach the article identifies and addresses four specific ethical issues: injustice, harm, lack of beneficence, and paternalism. Then it investigates the normative leap from the description of geographical variations to the prescription of right care. Lastly, the article argues that professional approaches such as developing guidelines, checklists, appropriateness criteria, and standards of care are important measures when addressing geographical variations, but that such efforts should be accompanied and supported by ethical analysis. Hence, geographical variations are not only a healthcare provision, management, or a policy making problem, but an ethical one. Addressing the ethical issues with geographical variations is key for handling this crucial problem in the provision of health services.

The ReCoN intervention: a co-created comprehensive intervention for primary mental health care aiming to prevent involuntary admissions

BACKGROUND

Reducing involuntary psychiatric admissions is a global concern. In Norway, the rate of involuntary admissions was 199 per 100,000 people 16 years and older in 2020. Individuals' paths towards involuntary psychiatric admissions usually unfold when they live in the community and referrals to such admissions are often initiated by primary health care professionals. Interventions at the primary health care level can therefore have the potential to prevent such admissions. Interventions developed specifically for this care level are, however, lacking. To enhance the quality and development of services in a way that meets stakeholders' needs and facilitates implementation to practice, involving both persons with lived experience and service providers in developing such interventions is requested.

AIM

To develop a comprehensive intervention for primary mental health care aiming to prevent involuntary admissions of adults.

METHODS

This study had an action research approach with a participatory research design. Dialogue conferences with multiple stakeholders in five Norwegian municipalities, inductive thematic analysis of data material from the conferences, and a series of feedback meetings were conducted.

RESULTS

The co-creation process resulted in the development of the ReCoN (Reducing Coercion in Norway) intervention. This is a comprehensive intervention that includes six strategy areas: [1] Management, [2] Involving Persons with Lived Experience and Family Carers, [3] Competence Development, [4] Collaboration across Primary and Specialist Care Levels, [5] Collaboration within the Primary Care Level, and [6] Tailoring Individual Services. Each strategy area has two to four action areas with specified measures that constitute the practical actions or tasks that are believed to collectively impact the need for involuntary admissions.

CONCLUSIONS

The ReCoN intervention has the potential for application to both national and international mental health services. The co-creation process with the full range of stakeholders ensures face validity, acceptability, and relevance. The effectiveness of the ReCoN intervention is currently being tested in a cluster randomised controlled trial. Given positive effects, the ReCoN intervention may impact individuals with a severe mental illness at risk of involuntary admissions, as more people may experience empowerment and autonomy instead of coercion in their recovery process.

Service Characteristics and Geographical Variation in Compulsory Hospitalisation: An Exploratory Random Effects Within-Between Analysis of Norwegian Municipalities, 2015-2018

Background: Compulsory hospitalisation in mental healthcare is contested. For ethical and legal reasons, it should only be used as a last resort. Geographical variation could indicate that some areas employ compulsory hospitalisation more frequently than is strictly necessary. Explaining variation in compulsory hospitalisation might contribute to reducing overuse, but research on associations with service characteristics remains patchy. Objectives: We aimed to investigate the associations between the levels of compulsory hospitalisation and the characteristics of primary mental health services in Norway between 2015 and 2018 and the amount of variance explained by groups of explanatory variables. Methods: We applied random-effects within-between Poisson regression of 461 municipalities/city districts, nested within 72 community mental health centre catchment areas (N = 1,828 municipality-years). Results: More general practitioners, mental health nurses, and the total labour-years in municipal mental health and addiction services per population are associated with lower levels of compulsory hospitalisations within the same areas, as measured by both persons (inpatients) and events (hospitalisations). Areas that, on average, have more general practitioners and public housing per population have lower levels of compulsory hospitalisation, while higher levels of compulsory hospitalisation are seen in areas with a longer history of supported employment and the systematic gathering of service users' experiences. In combination, all the variables, including the control variables, could account for 39-40% of the variation, with 5-6% related to municipal health services. Conclusion: Strengthening primary mental healthcare by increasing the number of general practitioners and mental health workers can reduce the use of compulsory hospitalisation and improve the quality of health services.

Measuring the level of compulsory hospitalisation in mental health care: The performance of different measures across areas and over time

OBJECTIVE

A variety of measures are used for reporting levels of compulsory psychiatric hospitalisation. This complicates comparisons between studies and makes it hard to establish the extent of geographic variation. We aimed to investigate how measures based on events, individuals and duration portray geographical variation differently and perform over time, how they correlate and how well they predict future ranked levels of compulsory hospitalisation.

METHODS

Small-area analysis, correlation analysis and linear regressions of data from a Norwegian health registry containing whole population data from 2014 to 2018.

RESULTS

The average compulsory hospitalisation rate per 100,000 inhabitant was 5.6 times higher in the highest area, compared to the lowest, while the difference for the compulsory inpatient rate was 3.2. Population rates based on inpatients correlate strongly with rates of compulsory hospitalisations (r = 0.88) and duration (r = 0.78). 68%-81% of ranked compulsory hospitalisation rates could be explained by each area's rank the previous year.

CONCLUSION

There are stable differences in service delivery between catchment areas in Norway. In future research, multiple measures of the level of compulsory hospitalisation should ideally be included when investigating geographical variation. It is important that researchers describe accurately the measure upon which their results are based.