Violent or fear-inducing behavior associated with hospital admission.
Recent studies indicate that the incidence of violent or fear-inducing behavior among the mentally ill may be higher than once thought. In this study, medical record admission notes for 1,687 psychiatric patients over a four-year period were examined for indications that the patients had engaged in violent or fear-inducing behavior just prior to hospital admission. This and other studies suggest that the frequency of violent or fear-inducing behavior associated with psychiatric admissions may have stabilized in recent years. The authors also found a significantly higher level of hospital readmissions for violent patients than for other patients. As a result, they caution against assuming that the rate of violent behavior among hospital admissions accurately reflects the prevalence of violent behavior among the general population of the mentally ill.
D002140:California; D003617:Dangerous Behavior; D005239:Fear; D006745:Hospital Bed Capacity, 300 to 499; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D010343:Patient Admission; D010351:Patient Discharge; D010359:Patient Readmission; D011567:Psychiatric Department, Hospital; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D014754:Violence