Title: Psychiatric morbidity as a risk factor for hospital inpatients' safety: a cross-sectional study

Authors: Roberta Mutti; Francesca Montali; Antonio Ferrari; Antonio Nouvenne; Fulvio Lauretani; Giovanna Campaniello; Carlo Marchesi

Addresses: Human-Resources Department, Teaching Hospital and Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale of Parma, 43126, Italy ' Palliative Care Program, Primary Care Department, Azienda Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42122, Italy ' Health Hospital Directorate, Teaching Hospital of Parma, 43126, Italy ' Internal Medicine and Critical Subacute Care Unit, Geriatric-Rehabilitation Department, Teaching Hospital of Parma, 43126, Italy ' Department of Clinical Geriatrics and Geriatric Rehabilitation, Teaching Hospital of Parma, 43126, Italy ' Clinical Governance, Risk Management, Quality and Accreditation Unit, Teaching Hospital of Parma, 43126, Italy ' Department of Neuroscience, Psychiatry Unit, University of Parma, 43126, Italy

Abstract: Very few studies have shown the relation between psychiatric morbidity and hospital care safety. Some studies emphasise the importance of proper management of care safety for patients treated in psychiatric settings. Therefore, it is of great importance to deeply analyse the psychiatric morbidity impact on the safety of patient care in non-psychiatric settings. A cross-sectional study has been carried out, based on a simple random sample of N = 941 psychiatric consultations collected over a three-year period (2012-014) representative of N = 4548, sent to the intensive psychiatric hospital service by the wards of a university hospital. Demographic characteristics and psychiatric morbidity of hospital inpatients are associated with the four main outcomes/events due to the patients' active participation in the care processes (patient fall, patients' departure, suicide attempt or self-harm and acts of violence against professionals).

Keywords: hospital safety; psychiatric morbidity; falls risk; suicide; self-harm; acts of violence against professionals; patient behaviours; hospital safety assessment.

DOI: 10.1504/IJRAM.2019.101271

International Journal of Risk Assessment and Management, 2019 Vol.22 No.2, pp.128 - 151

Accepted: 20 Jul 2018
Published online: 30 Jul 2019 *

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