Sammanfattning
BACKGROUND: A previous study found a strong increase in the number of emergency admissions in Østfold county from 2000 to 2010, while the number of compulsory hospitalisations remained unchanged. This implied a decrease in the percentage proportion of compulsory hospitalisations. The compulsory hospitalisation rate, i.e. the number of patients sectioned in relation to the population, on the other hand, remained unchanged. This article addresses the relationship between these two indicators for measuring compulsory hospitalisation in recent years.
MATERIAL AND METHOD: This article presents data on compulsory hospitalisation for 2017 and compares them with the same period in 2010. The material was collected during the period 1 September–30 November 2017. We looked at the proportion (of all admissions) and rate (in relation to the population) of compulsory hospitalisation, according to the definition of this concept in the national quality indicators for coercion in mental health care, issued by the Directorate of Health.
RESULTS: The proportion of compulsory hospitalisations in relation to the total number of admissions was 27 % and had remained virtually unchanged since 2010. The compulsory hospitalisation rate was 1.66 per 1000 adult inhabitants per year, a strong decline since 2010 (p < 0.001).
INTERPRETATION: The proportion of compulsory hospitalisations in relation to the total number of admissions remained unchanged from 2010 to 2017. When measured as a rate of the total population, compulsory hospitalisations dropped considerably. The Directorate of Health’s quality indicator for compulsory hospitalisation in mental health care should primarily measure the rate in terms of the population as opposed to the proportion of all admissions.