Coercion in substance use disorders: clinical course of compulsory admissions in a Swiss psychiatric hospital

According to the Swiss legal system, involuntary admission is one of the farthest-reaching incursions into personal autonomy. The effect of compulsory admission in treatment of substance use disorders (SUDs) on variables such as length of stay or leaving treatment before recommended discharge rema...

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Main Authors: Benedikt Habermeyer, Lea Wyder, Patrik Roser, Marc Vogel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SMW supporting association (Trägerverein Swiss Medical Weekly SMW) 2018-09-01
Series:Swiss Medical Weekly
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.smw.ch/index.php/smw/article/view/2511
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author Benedikt Habermeyer
Lea Wyder
Patrik Roser
Marc Vogel
author_facet Benedikt Habermeyer
Lea Wyder
Patrik Roser
Marc Vogel
author_sort Benedikt Habermeyer
collection DOAJ
description According to the Swiss legal system, involuntary admission is one of the farthest-reaching incursions into personal autonomy. The effect of compulsory admission in treatment of substance use disorders (SUDs) on variables such as length of stay or leaving treatment before recommended discharge remains elusive. In order to elucidate these effects, we retrospectively analysed the clinical course of treatment of 608 patients who were admitted between November 2016 and October 2017 to the Department of Addictive Disorders of the canton of Aargau. Involuntarily admitted patients showed lower health and social functioning, as measured by the Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS), compared with those with voluntary status. In involuntary admissions for SUD treatment, length of stay was significantly shorter and the proportion of patients who left treatment against recommendation was twice as high as in voluntarily admitted patients. Furthermore, if treatment was initiated on a compulsory basis, a subsequent switch to voluntary treatment status appeared to be very uncommon. We conclude that, at least in involuntary admission according to the Swiss legal system, these admissions do not lead to sustained inpatient treatment.
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spelling doaj.art-6cd7e70c5a80472cb95e00bfecc2e63e2022-12-22T03:03:50ZengSMW supporting association (Trägerverein Swiss Medical Weekly SMW)Swiss Medical Weekly1424-39972018-09-01148353610.4414/smw.2018.14644Coercion in substance use disorders: clinical course of compulsory admissions in a Swiss psychiatric hospitalBenedikt Habermeyer0Lea Wyder1Patrik Roser2Marc Vogel3Department of Addictive Disorders, Psychiatric Services Aargau (PDAG), Brugg, SwitzerlandDepartment of Addictive Disorders, Psychiatric Services Aargau (PDAG), Brugg, SwitzerlandDepartment of Addictive Disorders, Psychiatric Services Aargau (PDAG), Brugg, SwitzerlandUniversity of Basel Psychiatric Hospital, Division of Addictive Disorders, Basel, Switzerland According to the Swiss legal system, involuntary admission is one of the farthest-reaching incursions into personal autonomy. The effect of compulsory admission in treatment of substance use disorders (SUDs) on variables such as length of stay or leaving treatment before recommended discharge remains elusive. In order to elucidate these effects, we retrospectively analysed the clinical course of treatment of 608 patients who were admitted between November 2016 and October 2017 to the Department of Addictive Disorders of the canton of Aargau. Involuntarily admitted patients showed lower health and social functioning, as measured by the Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS), compared with those with voluntary status. In involuntary admissions for SUD treatment, length of stay was significantly shorter and the proportion of patients who left treatment against recommendation was twice as high as in voluntarily admitted patients. Furthermore, if treatment was initiated on a compulsory basis, a subsequent switch to voluntary treatment status appeared to be very uncommon. We conclude that, at least in involuntary admission according to the Swiss legal system, these admissions do not lead to sustained inpatient treatment. https://www.smw.ch/index.php/smw/article/view/2511addictioncompulsory admissionsubstance usecoercion
spellingShingle Benedikt Habermeyer
Lea Wyder
Patrik Roser
Marc Vogel
Coercion in substance use disorders: clinical course of compulsory admissions in a Swiss psychiatric hospital
Swiss Medical Weekly
addiction
compulsory admission
substance use
coercion
title Coercion in substance use disorders: clinical course of compulsory admissions in a Swiss psychiatric hospital
title_full Coercion in substance use disorders: clinical course of compulsory admissions in a Swiss psychiatric hospital
title_fullStr Coercion in substance use disorders: clinical course of compulsory admissions in a Swiss psychiatric hospital
title_full_unstemmed Coercion in substance use disorders: clinical course of compulsory admissions in a Swiss psychiatric hospital
title_short Coercion in substance use disorders: clinical course of compulsory admissions in a Swiss psychiatric hospital
title_sort coercion in substance use disorders clinical course of compulsory admissions in a swiss psychiatric hospital
topic addiction
compulsory admission
substance use
coercion
url https://www.smw.ch/index.php/smw/article/view/2511
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AT patrikroser coercioninsubstanceusedisordersclinicalcourseofcompulsoryadmissionsinaswisspsychiatrichospital
AT marcvogel coercioninsubstanceusedisordersclinicalcourseofcompulsoryadmissionsinaswisspsychiatrichospital