Use of 'acute behavioural disturbance' in mental health records: differences over time and by ethnicity in a London NHS mental health Trust.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Acute behavioural disturbance (ABD) is a controversial descriptor for presentations of severe agitation, aggression and physiological compromise.

Aims

To characterise the use of ABD-related terms in the electronic record of a large UK provider of mental health services during 2006-2021.

Method

The free text of all records relating to patient contacts with acute assessment mental health teams during 2006-2021 were searched for references to ABD. Identified text was coded for context of use and presence of clinical features of ABD described in the literature. Poisson regression was used to analyse differences in rates of use over time and between demographic groups.

Results

Mentions of ABD increased by an average of 1.12 (95% confidence interval (CI),

SUBMITTER: Polling C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10375904 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature