Level of needs in forensic psychiatric patients: concepts, instruments, assessments and consequences for care and rehabilitation

The overall aim is to develop knowledge in the field of need and functional assessment regarding forensic psychiatric (FP) patients, and relate these findings to care planning and rehabilitation.

Specifically, different instruments for need and functional assessment will be evaluated within a FP context, and the general level of needs in Swedish FP patients will be established, as the grade of convergence between patient self-ratings, staff ratings, and care plans with regard to these needs, for to finally test if needs/functional status variables predicts outcome.An experienced clinical research group  consisting of researchers and doctoral students carries out this study where data collection is organised in three waves during the study period.

The first wave include clinics within the VG region, while wave 2 and 3 also includes three regional forensic psychiatric clinics and one additional hospital.

The first phase of data collection, digitally based audiotaped interviews with patients and their treatment teams using instruments measuring needs and functional status, has begun.

This will be followed by more extensive assessments of needs and functional status adding different tests to the interviews.

The final step is a one-year follow-up of a subgroup of patients in open FP care.This research will contribute to the development of an evidence-based FP practice establishing the validity of tools and the level of needs in this heterogeneous and complex group of patients.