Still in the shadows: a national study of acute mental health unit location across New Zealand hospitals

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to explore the location of acute mental health inpatient units in general hospitals by mapping their location relative to hospital facilities and community facilities and to compare their proximity to hospital facilities with that of general medical acute units. METHODS: We obtained Google maps and hospital site maps for all New Zealand public hospitals. Geographic data were analysed and mental health units’ locations in relation to hospital facilities and public amenities were mapped. Radar plots were constructed comparing acute medical and mental health units’ locations in relation to hospital facilities. RESULTS: Twenty-two mental health units were identified. They were located predominantly at the periphery of hospital campuses, but also at a distance from community facilities. Compared to acute medical units, mental health units were almost universally located further from shared hospital facilities – with distances approximately three times further to reach the main hospital entrance (2.7 times distance), the nearest public café (3.4 times), the emergency department (2.4 times), and medical imaging (3.3 times). CONCLUSION: Despite the reforms of the 20(th) Century, mental health units still appear to occupy a liminal space; neither fully integrated into the hospital, nor part of the community. The findings warrant further investigation to understand the impact of these structural factors on parity of health care provision between mental and physical health care and the ability of mental health care services to support recovery. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12913-022-09004-z.