A retrospective analysis of absconding behaviours by acute care and rehabilitation psychiatric inpatients in Australia

Absconding (patients leaving without permission) is a significant issue within psychiatric inpatient settings, with identified risks which include harm to self or others, aggression and violence, as well as other social and economic costs. A recent systematic literature review (Muir-Cochrane & Mosel, 2008) found only five articles originating from Australia considering this phenomenon, of which there was no Australian profile published on the characterises of the person who absconds. The purpose of this study was to examine absconding behaviour within the acute care and rehabilitation wards of one psychiatric institution, aiming to describe the characteristics of both the absconding patient and these events. Within the included wards, the rate of absconding events was 21.46%. 60.61% of those who absconded were males diagnosed with schizophrenic disorders, with 76.56% of these patients absconding within the first 3 weeks of ward admission. More than half of absconding events were by patients that absconded more than once. The majority of absconding events occurred within a locked ward. The data confirms the findings of other studies in relation to a patient that absconds being generally a young male diagnosed with some form of schizophrenia. Implications of these findings for managing the risk of absconding are addressed.