Citation

Gowda GS, Thamby A, Basavaraju V, Nataraja R, Kumar CN, Math SB. Indian J. Psychol. Med. 2019; 41(2): 144-149.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Indian Psychiatric Society, South Zone, Publisher Medknow Publications)

DOI

10.4103/IJPSYM.IJPSYM_188_18

PMID

30983662

PMCID

PMC6436412

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Patients absconding from psychiatric hospitals pose a serious concern for the safety of patients and public alike. Absconding is associated with an increased risk of suicide, self-harm, homicide, and becoming "missing" from society. There are only scarce data on profile and outcome of the absconding patients in India. AIMS: To study the prevalence and describe the clinical and coercion characteristics of patients who abscond during inpatient care from an open ward.

METHODOLOGY: "Absconding" was defined as patients being absent from the hospital for a period of more than 24 h. This is an analysis of absconding patients out of the 200 admitted patients at a tertiary psychiatric hospital. Descriptive statistic was used to analyze the demographic, clinical, and perceived coercion profile and outcome.

RESULTS: The absconding rate was 4.5 incidents per 100 admissions. Most of these patients were males, from a nuclear family, admitted involuntarily, belonging to lower socio-economic status, diagnosed with schizophrenia or mood disorder with comorbid substance use disorder and had absent insight. The MacArthur Perceived Coercion Scale score was 4.58 (±1.44), and 80% of the absconded patients felt subjective coercive experiences in most domains at admission. Out of the 9 absconded patients, 2 patients had completed suicides and one continued to remain untraceable.

CONCLUSION: The absconded patients were males; admitted involuntarily; diagnosed with schizophrenia, mood disorder, and comorbid substance use disorder; and had absent insight and high perceived coercion. Absconding patients had the tendency to harm themselves and wander away from home.

Language: en

Keywords

Absconding; India; a) Patients absconding from psychiatric hospitals pose a serious mental health concern. b) Absconding patients with mental illness had the tendency to harm themselves and wander away from home. c) There is a need to adopt a uniform guideline and legal provision across the country to deal with the absconding persons with mental illness.; guidelines; inpatients; psychiatry