Factors Influencing the Length of Hospital Stay in a Safety Measures Psychiatric Hospital in Romania

Introduction: A growth in the number of patients admitted to forensic psychiatric services has been reported worldwide. At the same time, an increase in the length of hospital stay of these patients was observed. Objectives: To identify the factors that influence the length of hospital stay in a Romanian forensic psychiatric sample, as well as to compare the socio-demographic, clinical and criminological features of the “long stay” and “shorter stay” patients. Methods: This was a retrospective, cross-sectional study that included all patients admitted to Săpoca Psychiatry and Safety Measures Hospital according to article 110 of the Penal code (n=650) over a period of 11 years (2008-2018). Long stay was considered as a period of hospitalization greater than 5 years. Results: The average length of hospital stay in the sample was 3.20 years. Approximately one quarter (n=154) of the patients were classified as “long stay”. The variables that were significantly associated with length of stay included the main psychiatric diagnosis, social support, the severity of the offence and the perpetration of violence. Conclusions: Overall, our findings are in line with observations made by researchers from other countries. Our study highlights the need for further, more detailed research on the patients admitted to forensic psychiatric units in Romania.