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Review
. 2024 Dec;32(6):531-541.
doi: 10.1177/10398562241286627. Epub 2024 Sep 24.

Factors associated with length of stay in medium secure units: A realist review

Wajeeha Zagham  1 , Steve Kisely  2 , Terry Stedman  1 , Karen Brown  1 , Frances Dark  2
Affiliations
Review

Factors associated with length of stay in medium secure units: A realist review

Wajeeha Zagham et al. Australas Psychiatry. 2024 Dec.

Abstract

Objectives: This 'Realist Review' aimed to investigate the factors associated with length of stay and outcomes of medium secure care to help inform the development of a local secure care pathway.

Method: The searches generated a total of 1570 entries across multiple search engines. Following removal of duplicates, application of inclusion/exclusion criteria and selection of articles, a total of 18 were reviewed in detail, including a further five articles obtained from references and the explored grey literature.

Results: Several issues influenced not only admission to medium secure units, but also the outcomes. Many articles were retrospective studies relying on administrative data. The realist synthesis provides contextual data to inform program development.

Conclusions: The existing literature, though variable in quality, was limited by the varied jurisdictions and contexts. However it may be useful to inform care pathways for the optimal use of medium secure beds.

Keywords: forensic; length of stay; medium secure mental health units; realist review.

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Conflict of interest statement

DisclosureThe author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The authors declare that research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flow diagram of literature search.
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