Non-Voluntary Admission of Patients with Mental Disorders: Ethical and Social Issues
Non-Voluntary Admission of Patients with Mental Disorders: Ethical and Social Issues

Summary/Abstract: Non-voluntary admission of mentally ill patients is charged with multiple ethical issues and dilemmas, the most complicated being its dangerousness and predictability, the appropriate classification of patients into the corresponding risk category and the therapeutic decisions imposed in a paternalistic way. The paternalistic attitude of the physician is acceptable given that there is an obvious degree of social danger. The potentially violent, especially hetero-aggressive, behaviour has a great social impact resulting in patient stigmatization and iso- lation. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the social issues of patients with mental disorders, non-voluntary admitted. The study is retrospective and the data were collected from records of patients who have been non-voluntarily admitted from 2002 to 2011 in a psychiatric hospital in Iasi, Romania. The results show that among the risk factors in non-voluntary admission, hetero-aggressivity is one criterion under Article 45, paragraph a) Law 487/2002, frequently met in the study batch. Additionally, many non-voluntary admitted patients with mental illness have no medical insurance, being unemployed, unmarried / divorced and having a low social support. Community must be tolerant towards the mentally ill, regardless of the social integration of these patients. After discharge, a better social support may improve the prognosis, influencing the occurrence and evo- lution of mental illnesses. A strong support network is protective whereas a weak or lacking support network would make patients more vulnerable to stressful life events.

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