Systematic review of involuntary hospitalisation and long-term compliance
Open accessAbstract
INTRODUCTION: Involuntary hospitalisation denies autonomy and freedom of decision-making and is frequent in psychiatric clinical practice. However, there is still a lack of knowledge of long-term compliance after Involuntary commitment. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review of published studies reporting people compliance after involuntary hospitalisation and people compliance after voluntary admission. Two investigators independently searched PubMed, PsycINFO, EMBASE and CINAHL up to December 17th, 2021 to identify eligible studies. The study is registered with PROSPERO number CRD42022299437. RESULTS: Ten independent studies analysing the main indicators of compliance, engagement with services and medication adherence, were included. Three studies show that compliance is worse in people that have been involuntary hospitalised and in the others no association is found. Just two of the ten studies show an association with improved compliance. Outcomes are assessed from the first follow-up appointment after discharge up to 96 months. CONCLUSIONS: Although evidences carried out so far are weak, the data do not show a trend of improvements and do not seem to exclude the possibility of worse compliance after compulsory hospitalisation. More appropriate methodologies and reliable assessment are needed in future research to provide scientific evidence on involuntary admission health effects.
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There is limited evidence about whether involuntary treatment is effective.
“Some interview participants in this study expressed concern that there is limited evidence about whether involuntary treatment is effective, and this concern is also echoed in the literature.”
From “Backed into a Corner”: Lived experiences of receiving and providing involuntary psychiatric treatment under British Columbia’s Mental Health Act (2026) · cites this paper as [52]
Data do not show a trend of improvements and do not seem to exclude the possibility of worse compliance after compulsory hospitalisation.
“from a systematic review on involuntary psychiatric hospitalization and long-term compliance, Cossu et al. [52] concluded that “although evidences carried out so far are weak, the data do not show a trend of improvements and do not seem to exclude the possibility of worse compliance after compulsory hospitalisation” [49].”
From “Backed into a Corner”: Lived experiences of receiving and providing involuntary psychiatric treatment under British Columbia’s Mental Health Act (2026) · cites this paper as [52]
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- Authors
- Cossu, G., Gyppaz, D., Kalcev, G., Manca, A. R., Angermeyer, M., Zreik, T., & Carta, M. G.
- Affiliations
- University of Cagliari (IT)
- University of Turin (IT)
- Degree program in medicine and surgery, University of Cagliari
- Center for Public Mental Health
- Research Consultant, Mental Health Service User Association
- Corresponding author
- Cossu, Giulia
- Venue
- International Review of Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2022-09-29
- Volume
- 35
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 209-220
- ISSN
- 0954-0261 (ISSN-L)
- 1369-1627
- OpenAlex
- W4297982719
- Cited by
- 13
- References
- 50
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 6
- FWCI
- 0.38
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- hdl.handle.net
- Licence
- other-oa
- Locations
- International Review of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UNICA IRIS Institutional Research Information System (University of Cagliari) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Healthcare Decision-Making and Restraints
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychiatric care and mental health services
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Schizophrenia research and treatment
- Keywords
- involuntary hospitalisation, involuntary admission, long-term compliance, medication adherence, voluntary admission, psychiatric inpatients, service engagement, post-discharge follow-up
- MeSH terms
- Involuntary Treatment, Hospitalization, Humans
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