The individual experience of ageing patients and the current service provision in the context of Italian forensic psychiatry: a case-study

摘要

Introduction. Following the recent development of residential units for the execution of security measures (REMS) managed by the National Health Service and the closing down of forensic psychiatric hospitals, no study has been conducted to investigate the individual experience of ageing patients and to assess whether the new service is adequately meeting their needs. We aim to explore the experience of the service of a sample of patients aged 50 years old and above living in one of the Italian REMS. \ud\udMethods. We adopted a case-study design and included a sample of five patients. We collected their basic demographic data, administered the Camberwell Assessment Need Forensic Short Version (CANFOR-S) and carried out in-depth qualitative semi-structured interviews. \ud\udResults. Results from the CANFOR-S evidenced that met needs were more prevalent than unmet needs. The qualitative interviews evidenced high levels of satisfaction around accommodation, health care provision, activities, availability of benefits and company and lower levels of satisfaction around psychological and practical support.\ud\udDiscussion. This study gave voice to aging forensic psychiatric patients and provided through personal accounts based on their lived experience, preliminary evidence around the benefits and limitations of the Italian residential forensic psychiatric system for this age group. Implications for clinical nursing forensic practitioners operating within different service frameworks are discussed.