title: Involuntary admission in Greece: a prospective national study of police involvement and client characteristics affecting emergency assessment.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  and aim: Mental health legislation varies considerably from one country to the other. This study aims to describe the characteristics of the individuals who are brought in by the police for psychiatric assessment and the police involvement in this procedure in Greece.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective study of the incident books of the police departments throughout Greece concerning involuntary psychiatric admissions. These books were completed by the police officers who brought the individuals for involuntary psychiatric examination.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 2,038 involuntary assessments were evaluated and examined in relationship to the demographic characteristics of the examined individuals. The main findings are as follows. Males were more often assessed (69%) at a younger age than females (p < 0.001). The majority of the assessments led to involuntary admission (87.5%). Immigrant status did not lead to increased involuntary commitment. The chance for involuntary admission was greater for younger Greek nationals offering resistance. An unexpected finding is that police officers were unnecessarily present in almost half of the mental health assessments (49.4%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The psychiatrists in Greece who perform mental health assessments under the Greek Mental Health Law admit the majority of individuals. They also accept the presence of a police officer during the assessment more often than expected. This issue needs immediate addressing by means of better training and support of psychiatrists.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Psychiatry, Athens University Medical School, Attikon General Hospital, Athens, Greece. thandouz@med.uoa.gr
authors.forename: Athanassios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Douzenis
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Michopoulos
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Economou
authors.forename: Emmanouil
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rizos
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Christodoulou
authors.forename: Lefteris
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lykouras
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003134:Commitment of Persons with Psychiatric Disorders / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004637:Emergency Services, Psychiatric; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece; D006801:Humans; D035846:Law Enforcement; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011634:Public Health; D055815:Young Adult