The role of Mental Health Care Act status in dignity-related complaints by psychiatric inpatients: A cross-sectional analytical study

South African Journal of Psychiatry

 
 
Field Value
 
Title The role of Mental Health Care Act status in dignity-related complaints by psychiatric inpatients: A cross-sectional analytical study
 
Creator Raphalalani, Shonisani Becker, Piet J. Böhmer, Manfred W. Krüger, Christa
 
Subject Psychiatry legal status; patients’ rights; dignity; psychiatric admissions; dignity-related complaints; Mental Health Care Act
Description Background: Globally interest has grown in promoting the rights of patients, especially psychiatric patients. Two core elements of patients’ rights are the rights to be treated in a dignified manner and to give feedback about services. Psychiatric patients may feel treated in an undignified manner, especially during involuntary hospital admissions.Aim: We explored the relationship between Mental Health Care Act 17 of 2002 (MHCA) status and dignity-related complaints.Setting: The study was conducted at a specialist state psychiatric hospital.Methods: We reviewed 120 registered complaints by psychiatric inpatients, retrieved the clinical files, and analysed 70 complaints. Fisher’s exact tests described the relationship between patients’ MHCA status and the frequency of dignity-related or other categories of complaints. Logistic regression analyses were adjusted for potential covariates.Results: Most complaints were from single, literate male patients, aged 30–39 years, with mood disorders. Most complainants were admitted involuntarily (60%). Dignity-related complaints (n = 41; 58%) outnumbered nondignity-related complaints (n = 29; 41%). The proportion of dignity-related complaints was higher in involuntary (64%) and assisted (60%) patients than in voluntary patients (44%). Dignity-related complaints were not significantly associated with MHCA status (χ2 = 2.03 and p = 0.36). Involuntary patients were more than twice as likely as assisted and voluntary patients to complain about dignity-related matters (Odds ratio [OR]: 2.25; 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.71; 7.13]; p = 0.16).Conclusion: Involuntary patients are more likely to complain about dignity-related matters. Qualitative research is recommended for a deeper understanding of patients’ experiences during admission.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor None
Date 2021-05-27
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — Cross-sectional analytical study
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v27i0.1602
 
Source South African Journal of Psychiatry; Vol 27 (2021); 8 pages 2078-6786 1608-9685
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://sajp.org.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/1602/2128 https://sajp.org.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/1602/2129 https://sajp.org.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/1602/2130 https://sajp.org.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/1602/2131
 
Coverage South Africa 2010-2020 Psychiatric inpatients
Rights Copyright (c) 2021 Shonisani Raphalalani, Piet J. Becker, Manfred W. Böhmer, Christa Krüger https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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