title: Who are the "committed"?
abstract: A record review of patients who were committed by the court during the course of a hospitalization at an acute urban facility was carried out. Court-committed patients represented 4% of total patients admitted during a 2-year period. Black patients and patients over the age of 70 were more likely to reach the stage of a court hearing and be committed. Schizophrenia was the most frequent diagnosis, being present in well over one half of court-committed patients. Approximately one third of the patients had a hospital stay exceeding 3 months, and transfer to a long term inpatient program occurred significantly more often among court-committed patients as compared to the rest of the hospitalized population. The majority of court-committed patients were eventually returned to the community; about one fifth were placed in intermediate facilities such as boarding or nursing homes. When legal status of previous and subsequent hospitalizations of this sample of court-committed patients was examined, a clear predominance of uncomplicated voluntary hospitalization became apparent.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D003134:Commitment of Persons with Psychiatric Disorders / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D005260:Female; D005555:Forensic Psychiatry / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019965:Neurocognitive Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D010351:Patient Discharge; D010359:Patient Readmission; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States