“Walkouts” and the open hospital: a three-month survey

Conclusions

It is apparent that with the opening of psychiatric hospitals, the attitude of the patients (and, eventually, society as a whole) toward hospitalization will change. This change in attitude will result in a different usage of the hospital by the patient, and this in turn will result in a variety of motives for unauthorized absences from the hospital. As this limited survey has demonstrated, it is an oversimplification to regard absences from an open hospital as due primarily to involuntary admissions. Many of the “voluntary” patients are, in fact, “involuntary,” and enter unwillingly on voluntary status because of family pressures or for other reasons. The actual reasons for “walkouts” are often subtle and complex and frequently involve many different factors. Foremost among these would appear to be the patient's perception and use of the hospital, the reasons for his admission, and the sorts of verbal and nonverbal communications he receives from the hospital staff. The analysis of these complex factors is beyond the scope of this paper, but the key to a deeper understanding of “walkouts” undoubtedly lies in these areas.