Project: FOR-WOMEN (forensic psychiatric care for female inpatients)

More about the project

FOR-WOMEN aims to study forensic psychiatric care for female inpatients. A core aspect of this study is that caring for human beings requires an understanding of their life situation. Forensic psychiatric care provision is bound by the following legislation:  the Health and Medical Services Act (2017:30), which focuses on the medical aspect, while the Forensic Mental Care Act (LRV 1991:1129) together with the Compulsory Mental Care Act (LPT 1991:1128) form the framework for the care.

Patients who are cared for in the forensic psychiatric care services have to conform to the strict regulations of a complex environment with a restricted freedom and where for example the patient´s possibilities of having his/her own private belongings is limited. Moreover, patients are generally not allowed to take a walk outside the hospital area. In order to be able to do this, the doctor or a court has to give their approval. These are just a few examples of the great number of conditions that commonly affect patients in forensic psychiatric care. Furthermore, the patients are cared for together with other patients with mental illness, who have committed crimes and can be of different genders. All these aspects have the potential of having a considerable effect on the female patients and the studies conducted within this project aim to identify which aspects that can positively or negatively affect the female patients´ rehabilitation and mental health while they are cared for in a forensic setting.

The project is a part of a larger research program with the aim of searching for evidence-based practice in forensic psychiatric care. The results from these studies can together formulate guiding principles for the future care of this group.

The first study has a qualitative design with a phenomenological hermeneutic approach. Data will be collected with interviews (N=20) with female inpatients in a forensic psychiatric care setting. The semi-structured interviews, based on an interview guide, will focus on the female patient and her life situation and important aspects of this. By highlighting the female patients´ experiences of forensic psychiatric care the results can be a help for caregivers to understand the needs of this group.

The second study will similarly have a qualitative design and phenomenological hermeneutic approach. Interviews will be performed (N=20) with caregivers to the female inpatients in forensic psychiatric care. The focus in the interviews will be on the female patients’ life situation and their experience of caring for them.

The third study has a quantitative design and will use three evaluated questionnaires (Verbal and Social Interaction, VSI; Essen Climate Evaluation Schema, EssenCES and Quality of Psychiatric Care Forensic version, QPC-FIP). Both female inpatients (N ≈ 20) and caregivers (N ≈ 40) will be included in the study, the focus of which is on the care environment, participation and nurse-patient interaction. 

The fourth study has a qualitative design with a hermeneutic approach and data will be collected in an observational study. The doctoral student will observe interactions between female inpatients and their caregivers. The focus for the observations will be based on the results from the previous three studies.