Investigating the Prevalence and Causes of Escape in Mental Patients
Abstract
This study summarize and evaluate the articles that have been done in the field of mental patient escape to provide a clearer picture of the prevalence, causes, and factors of escape. Electronic resources were searched in the the period from 2008 to 2023. A combination of Abscond of mental patient, Abscond of mentally ill, Abscond, Escape of mental patient, and Escape was used to search electronic resources. The results of this review study showed that the highest number of escapes from the hospital are in Australia, England, America, India, and Ireland, respectively. A rate of over 25% absconding has been reported in forensic psychiatry in South Africa. Also, young male patients, single, addicts, people diagnosed with bipolar mood disorder, depression, and schizophrenia and patients who have not been admitted for a long time showed more desire to run away. A review of the conducted studies showed that the prevalence of absconding occurred in which countries, in which age group, with which disease, and which gender. According to the results of the research, it is possible to identify the patients at risk of escaping by taking into account the characteristics of hospitalized patients and preventing them from escaping by monitoring them and taking special measures. Encouraging families to visit and support their patients, reducing the feeling of limitation and deprivation in patients, can help reduce the rate of absconding. The results of this research can be used in planning and designing appropriate measures to prevent mental patients from escaping.
