Drug treatment and polypharmacy in forensic psychiatric care: risks, benefits, and economic impact

Forensic psychiatry provides care to mentally disordered offenders, with the mission to not only treat the patients but also consider their risk to the society.

Almost all patients in forensic psychiatric care received pharmacological treatment, and many received more than one drugs.

Systematic reviews have highlighted substantial knowledge gaps on the risks and benefits of pharmacological treatment in forensic psychiatry.

The aim of this proposal is to fill the evidence gaps on the risks and benefits of pharmacological treatment and polypharmacy in forensic psychiatry, and to provide critical information for care providers.

The project will be carried out by an interdisciplinary team of researchers from Karolinska Institutet, University of Gothenburg, Sahlgrenska University hospital, and University of Oxford.

We will use data from the Swedish National Forensic Psychiatric Register (RättspsyK) with linkage to other Swedish national registers, combined with advanced study designs and statistical models for data analysis.

The expected results will provide critical information for health care providers about the risks and benefits associated with different pharmacological treatment, therefore improve treatment outcomes patients in forensic psychiatry.

The improvement would not only enhance the health of the patients in forensic psychiatric care, but also improve public safety in the community at large.