ArticleBJPsych open2019
Patients' experiences of assessment and detention under mental health legislation: systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis.
Article in BJPsych open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 64 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
64 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- A meta-ethnography of shared decision-making in mental health care from the perspective of staff and service users.BMC health services research · 2024Pooled it
- A qualitative meta-synthesis of service users' and carers' experiences of assessment and involuntary hospital admissions under mental health legislations: a five-year update.BMC psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- The experiences of consumers, clinicians and support persons involved in the safety planning intervention for suicide prevention: a qualitative systematic review and meta-synthesis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Clinical and social factors associated with involuntary psychiatric hospitalisation in children and adolescents: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and narrative synthesis.The Lancet. Child & adolescent health · 2021Pooled it
- Clinical and social factors associated with increased risk for involuntary psychiatric hospitalisation: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and narrative synthesis.The lancet. Psychiatry · 2019Pooled it
- Feasibility testing and preliminary trial of a crisis planning and monitoring intervention to reduce compulsory readmissions: the FINCH Study.BMC medicine · 2025Trial
- De-Escalation in United Kingdom Inpatient Mental Health Care: A Structured Critical Narrative Synthesis of People, Capability and Context.International journal of mental health nursing · 2026Review
- Patient experiences of coercion in mental healthcare: systematic review and metasummary of qualitative studies from 1991 to 2025.BJPsych open · 2026Review
- Legislative differences in compulsory mental health care for children and adolescents across European countries.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Article
- Parental engagement in an early intervention program for anorexia nervosa: a qualitative study.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Article
- Article
- The contribution ofBJPsych open · 2025Article
- Ethnicity and involuntary hospitalisation: a study of intersectional effects.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2025Article
- Area-level factors associated with variation in involuntary psychiatric hospitalisation across England: a cross-sectional, ecological study.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2025Article
- Review
- Racialised experience of detention under the Mental Health Act: a photovoice investigation.BMJ mental health · 2025Article
- Factors Associated with Perceived Coercion in Adults Receiving Psychiatric Care: A Scoping Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Misdiagnosed, mismanaged, mistreated: personality disorders and the Mental Health Act.BJPsych bulletin · 2025Review
- Within the Walls: Experiences of Admission to Psychiatric Hospital in Ireland Prior to 2001.International journal of mental health nursing · 2025Article
- Suicide risk assessment and management protocol for research within the Department of Veterans Affairs.Journal of psychopathology and clinical science · 2025Article
4 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundUnderstanding patient experiences of detention under mental health legislation is crucial to efforts to reform policy and practice.
aimsTo synthesise qualitative evidence on patients' experiences of assessment and detention under mental health legislation.
methodFive bibliographic databases were searched, supplemented by reference list screening and citation tracking. Studies were included if they reported on patient experiences of assessment or detention under mental health legislation; reported on patients aged 18 years or older; collected data using qualitative methods; and were reported in peer-reviewed journals. Findings were analysed and synthesised using thematic synthesis.
resultsThe review included 56 papers. Themes were generally consistent across studies and related to information and involvement in care, the environment and relationships with staff, as well as the impact of detention on feelings of self-worth and emotional state. The emotional impact of detention and views of its appropriateness varied, but a frequent theme was fear and distress during detention, including in relation to the use of force and restraint. Where staff were perceived as striving to form caring and collaborative relationships with patients despite the coercive nature of treatment, and when clear information was delivered, the negative impact of involuntary care seemed to be reduced.
conclusionsFindings suggest that involuntary in-patient care is often frightening and distressing, but certain factors were identified that can help reduce negative experiences. Coproduction models may be fruitful in developing new ways of working on in-patient wards that provide more voice to patients and staff, and physical and social environments that are more conducive to recovery. DECLARATION OF INTEREST: None.
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