The impact of structured decision making on absconding by forensic psychiatric patients: results from an A-B design study

BACKGROUND: Few studies have investigated absconding from forensic hospitals and there are no published studies of interventions aimed at reducing these incidents in forensic settings. We present a study of the impact of a new policy using structured professional judgment and an interdisciplinary team-based approach to granting privileges to forensic patients. We assess the impact of this policy on the rate and type of absconding from a metropolitan forensic facility. METHODS: Following concern about the rate of absconding at our hospital, a new policy was implemented to guide the process of granting hospital grounds and community access privileges. Employing an A-B design, we investigated the rate, characteristics, and motivations of absconding events in the 18 months prior to, and 18 months following, implementation of this policy to assess its effectiveness. RESULTS: Eighty-six patients were responsible for 188 incidents of absconding during the 42-month study window. The rate of absconding decreased progressively from 17.8% of all patients at risk prior to implementation of the new policy, to 13.8% during implementation, and further to 12.0% following implementation. There was a differential impact of the policy on absconding events, in that the greatest reduction was witnessed in absconsions occurring from unaccompanied passes; this was offset, to some extent, by an increase in absconding occurring from within hospital units or from staff accompanied outings. Seven of the absconding events included incidents of minor violence, and two included the commission of other illegal behaviors. The most common reported motive for absconding across the time periods studied was a sense of boredom or frustration. Discharge rate from hospital was 22.9% prior to the implementation of the policy to 22.7% after its introduction, indicating no change in the rate of patients’ eventual community reintegration. CONCLUSIONS: A structured and team-based approach to decision making regarding hospital grounds and community access privileges appeared to reduce the overall rate of absconding without slowing community reintegration of forensic patients. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12888-015-0474-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.