Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32651594›Full record

ArticleSocial psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology2021

Forensic mental health in Europe: some key figures.

Jack Tomlin, Ilaria Lega, Peter Braun, Harry G Kennedy, Vicente Tort Herrando, Ricardo Barroso, Luca Castelletti, Fiorino Mirabella, Franco Scarpa, Birgit Völlm and 1 more

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 40 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
40citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
10.3field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

40 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 95 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Forensic mental health service use in early psychosis: A scoping review.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2026
    Review
  5. Article
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  7. Improving risk assessment in forensic mental health: Temporal validation and clinical refinement of the FoVOx risk tool.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2026
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  13. Pharmacological treatment and psychiatric polypharmacy in forensic psychiatric care in Sweden.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2025
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 8 institutions in 5 countries.

Jack TomlinDepartment of Forensic Psychiatry, University of Rostock, Gehlsheimer Straße 20, 18147, Rostock, Germany. jack.tomlin@med.uni-rostock.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7610-7918
Ilaria LegaWoman, Child and Adolescent Health Unit, National Center for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Italian National Institute of Health, Rome, Italy.
Peter BraunPompe Foundation Department LFPC, Forensic Psychiatric Hospital, Zeeland, The Netherlands.
Harry G KennedyNational Forensic Mental Health Service, Central Mental Hospital, Dundrum, Ireland.
Vicente Tort HerrandoUnitat Polivalent de Psiquaitria Quatre Camins, Penitentiary Psychiatry, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Deu, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.
Ricardo BarrosoDepartment of Education and Psychology, University of Tras-Os-Montes and Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal.
Luca CastellettiAzuenda Ospedaliera Carlo Poma, Matov, Italy.
Fiorino MirabellaCenter for Behavioural Sciences and Mental Health, Italian National Institute of Health, Rome, Italy.
Franco ScarpaDepartment of Forensic Services, USL Toscana Centro, Florence, Italy.
Birgit VöllmDepartment of Forensic Psychiatry, University of Rostock, Gehlsheimer Straße 20, 18147, Rostock, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4571-3410
experts of COST Action IS1302
University of Rostock · DEAzienda Ospedaliera Carlo Poma · ITAzienda Usl Toscana Centro · ITIstituto Superiore di Sanità · ITNational Centre for Disease Prevention and Control · ITParc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu · ESTrinity College Dublin · IEUniversity of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro · PT

Funding

European Cooperation in Science and Technology IS1302
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeWhile the number of forensic beds and the duration of psychiatric forensic psychiatric treatment have increased in several European Union (EU) states, this is not observed in others. Patient demographics, average lengths of stay and legal frameworks also differ substantially. The lack of basic epidemiological information on forensic patients and of shared indicators on forensic care within Europe is an obstacle to comparative research. The reasons for such variation are not well understood.

methodsExperts from seventeen EU states submitted data on forensic bed prevalence rates, gender distributions and average length of stay in forensic in-patient facilities. Average length of stay and bed prevalence rates were examined for associations with country-level variables including Gross Domestic Product (GDP), expenditure on healthcare, prison population, general psychiatric bed prevalence rates and democracy index scores.

resultsThe data demonstrated substantial differences between states. Average length of stay was approximately ten times greater in the Netherlands than Slovenia. In England and Wales, 18% of patients were female compared to 5% in Slovenia. There was a 17-fold difference in forensic bed rates per 100,000 between the Netherlands and Spain. Exploratory analyses suggested average length of stay was associated with GDP, expenditure on healthcare and democracy index scores.

conclusionThe data presented in this study represent the most recent overview of key epidemiological data in forensic services across seventeen EU states. However, systematically collected epidemiological data of good quality remain elusive in forensic psychiatry. States need to develop common definitions and recording practices and contribute to a publicly available database of such epidemiological indicators.

Indexed as

Mental DisordersMental HealthEnglandEuropeFemaleHumansNetherlandsSpainWalesBedsDeinstitutionalizationEuropeForensic mental healthPrevalence

Identifiers

PMID32651594
PMCPMC7847441
OpenAlexW3041245688

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.