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Profiling Absconders from Public and Private Inpatient Psychiatric Units: a Comparative Analysis

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Abstract

Research related to absconding and its associated risks is limited in relation to inpatients from private psychiatric units. This study aimed to compare patients who abscond from public and private psychiatric inpatient settings. Demographic data was collated on the subjects (n = 214) who all had a history of absconding. Public absconders (n = 159) were more likely to have a psychotic illness, increased number of psychiatric diagnoses, history of aggression, substance use and homelessness, when compared to private absconders. Predictors identified for private absconders (n = 55) were female gender and fewer drugs used. This study has implications for the different profiles of absconders between the public and private settings.

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Acknowledgements

Zoe Jenkins, statistician, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. St Vincent’s Health, Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia

    Sonja Cabarkapa

  2. Waitemata District Health Board, Auckland, New Zealand

    Sonja Cabarkapa & Raghavakurup Radhakrishnan

  3. Western Health, Melbourne, Australia

    Raja Sadhu, Akinsola Akinbiyi, Ravindra Srinivasaraju & Dean Stevenson

  4. The Melbourne Clinic, Melbourne, Australia

    Joel King & Nathan Dowling

  5. University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

    Joel King

  6. The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    Raghavakurup Radhakrishnan

Authors
  1. Sonja Cabarkapa
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  2. Raja Sadhu
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  3. Joel King
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  4. Nathan Dowling
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  5. Raghavakurup Radhakrishnan
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  7. Ravindra Srinivasaraju
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  8. Dean Stevenson
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Correspondence to Sonja Cabarkapa.

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Declaration of Interest Statement

All authors whose names are listed on this paper certify that they have NO affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest or non-financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.

Research Involving Human Participants and Informed Consent

Ethics approval was granted from both the public and private facilities (2018–004 by Mercy Health HREC, and 316 by The Melbourne Clinic HREC respectively). The patient data was de-identified and gathered retrospectively, therefore, informed consent was not required.

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Cabarkapa, S., Sadhu, R., King, J. et al. Profiling Absconders from Public and Private Inpatient Psychiatric Units: a Comparative Analysis. Psychiatr Q 91, 299–307 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-019-09703-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-019-09703-7

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