ArticleInternational journal of mental health systems2022
Experiences and perceptions of coercive practices in mental health care among service users in Nigeria: a qualitative study.
Article in International journal of mental health systems, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- Mechanical restraint in inpatient psychiatric settings: A systematic review of international prevalence, associations, outcomes, and reduction strategies.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2025Pooled 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
- Abuse of people with mental illnesses perpetrated by healthcare professionals: a scoping review.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Patients' experiences and perceptions of physical restraint in psychiatric care: A descriptive qualitative study at Muhimbili National Hospital.PLOS mental health · 2026Article
- Mental health laws in Africa: Perspectives from Cabo Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2026Article
- Readiness for collaboration: an implementation science perspective on integrating Nigerian religious leaders into mental health systems - findings from the CLERIC study.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- Emergency colon cancer diagnosis in people with mental health conditions: a population-based cohort study in northern Italy.BMJ mental health · 2025Article
- Public acceptance of coercive measures in Nigerian mental health care.The International journal of social psychiatry · 2025Article
- Nurse-perpetrated abuse in Japanese psychiatric hospitals: a cross-sectional study of prevalence and correlates.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Exploring pathways to compulsory detention in psychiatric hospital and ways to prevent repeat detentions; Service user perspectives.PLOS mental health · 2025Article
- The management of psychiatric emergencies in Africa: A scoping review of restraint and seclusion practices in clinical settings and their impacts.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2025Review
- Serious mental health conditions and exposure to adulthood trauma in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
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Abstract
backgroundPeople with mental health problems are more vulnerable to a broad range of coercive practices and human rights abuses. There is a global campaign to eliminate, or at the very least decrease, the use of coercion in mental health care. The use of coercion in psychiatric hospitals in developing countries is poorly documented. The primary aim of this study was to explore service users' perceptions and experiences of coercion in psychiatric hospitals in Nigeria.
methodsFour focus group discussions were carried out among 30 service users on admission in two major psychiatric hospitals in Nigeria. The audio recordings were transcribed verbatim and then analyzed thematically with the aid of MAXQDA software.
resultsThe Focus group participants included 19 males and 11 females with a mean age of 34.67 ± 9.54. Schizophrenia was the most common diagnosis (40%, n = 12) and had a secondary school education (60%, n = 18). The focus group participants perceived coercion to be a necessary evil in severe cases but anti-therapeutic to their own recovery, an extension of stigma and a vicious cycle of abuse. The experience of involuntary admission revolved mainly around deception, maltreatment, and disdain. Participants in both study sites narrated experiences of being flogged for refusing medication. Mechanical restraint with chains was a common experience for reasons including refusing medications, to prevent absconding and in other cases, punitively. The use of chains was viewed by participants as dehumanizing and excruciatingly painful.
conclusionThe experiences of coercion by participants in this study confirm that human rights violations occur in large psychiatric hospitals and underscore the need for mental health services reform. The use of coercion in this context reflects agelong underinvestment in the mental health care system in the country and obsolete mental health legislation that does not protect the rights of people with mental health problems. The study findings highlight an urgent need to address issues of human rights violations in psychiatric hospitals in the country.
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