SUMMARY
Escape phenomenon is studied in a mental hospital in a retrospective design. From among the 3892 admissions of 1977, 128 case files of patients who were escapees according to the definition used, were picked up. The incidence of escape for the year 1977 was 3.3%. Results on different variables were compared with hospital admission statistics for the year 1977 to draw inferences. Using a Chi-aquare test it was found that escape incidence was significantly high in the below 30yr. age group, males, free voluntary boarders, manics and schizophrenics. The type of ward from where escape was made, the duration of their stay in the hospital before escape, and the clinical status at the time of escape were also examined. The implications of the results are discussed.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (173.2 KB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Antebi R. Some characteristics of mental hospital absconders. Br J Psychiatry. 1967 Oct;113(503):1087–1090. doi: 10.1192/bjp.113.503.1087. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- MULLER D. J. The "missing" patient. A survey of 210 instances of absconding in a mental hospital. Br Med J. 1962 Jan 20;1(5272):177–179. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.5272.177. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]