AS37-01 - Outcomes of treatment orders in Barcelona province (Spain)

In our presentation we look at the outcomes of mental health patients with a treatment order (in Spain called “Medidas de Seguridad”) for people suffering from a mental disorder that had committed an offence. This kind of order could apply (generally related with severity of offence) for compulsory treatment in community, psychiatric hospital or psychiatric penitentiary units. The sample are patients with “medidas de seguridad” (treatment orders) that they finished it between 2005 (April) and 2009 (April), in each of the types where they were admitted (community, hospital and prison psychiatry), The geographical area of study will be Barcelona province (about 5.500.000 population). The number of patients included in all types of tretament order were 220 patiens (108 admitted and 112 in community treatment). The variables that we will look there are: 1) When they finish the order (gender, psychiatric diagnoses on discharge, psychopharmaocological treatment and kind of psychiatric follow-up recomended, type of offence and length of treatment order. 2) In the outcome will look at variables like psychiatric diagnosis (in order to see the diagnosis stability), accommodation (housing), recidivism, treatment and working (other legal and social factors) and hospital admissions and current psychiatric follow-up. There are few studies that review the outcome of patients having a treatment order and serving a sentence in the long term. We also try to compare these groups with people suffering from a mental illness and no serving sentences. Economic differences between the groups will be also analysed.