Care Pathways, Health Service Use Patterns and Opportunities for Justice Involvement Prevention Among Forensic Mental Health Clients.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of the present study is to describe the patterns of health service use and of prescription claims in the year preceding an offense leading to a verdict of not criminally responsible on account of a mental disorder (NCRMD). METHODS: Provincial health administrative databases were used to identify medical services, hospitalizations, and ambulatory prescription claims among 1,014 individuals found NCRMD in Québec. Contacts in the year preceding the offense were analyzed using descriptive analyses and latent class analysis. RESULTS: Overall, 71.4% of subjects were in contact with services for mental health reasons within a year of their NCRMD offense. Among those that received services and not hospitalized for psychiatric reasons at the time of the offense, 20.7% committed the NCRMD offense within a week of the most recent mental health contact. Among those that had at least one prescription claim for an antipsychotic, 45.8% were not taking any antipsychotic at the time of the offense. Latent class analysis provided a multidimensional representation of mental health service use and showed that 58.4% of subjects had no or very rare contact with services. CONCLUSIONS: Many forensic patients are likely to have experienced service disruption or discontinuity while in the community, for reasons that may relate to perceived need for care, to service organization, or to the acceptability, availability, and accessibility of services. Given the serious impact of the "forensic" label on the lives of service users, not to mention the increased pressure on resources, the considerable economic costs, and the impact on victims, there is reason to advocate for a greater involvement of mental and physical health service providers in early prevention of violence, which requires reorganizing resources to share the forensic knowledge upstream, before an offense is committed.

The national trajectory project of individuals found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder in Canada. Part 1: context and methods.

The National Trajectory Project examined longitudinal data from a large sample of people found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (NCRMD) to assess the presence of provincial differences in the application of the law, to examine the characteristics of people with serious mental illness who come into conflict with the law and receive this verdict, and to investigate the trajectories of NCRMD-accused people as they traverse the mental health and criminal justice systems. Our paper describes the rationale for the National Trajectory Project and the methods used to collect data in Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia, the 3 most populous provinces in Canada and the 3 provinces with the most people found NCRMD.

The national trajectory project of individuals found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder in Canada. Part 2: the people behind the label.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the psychosocio-criminological characteristics of not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (NCRMD)-accused people and compare them across the 3 most populous provinces. In Canada, the number of people found NCRMD has risen during the past 20 years. The Criminal Code is federally legislated but provincially administered, and mental health services are provincially governed. Our study offers a rare opportunity to observe the characteristics and trajectories of NCRMD-accused people. METHOD: The National Trajectory Project examined 1800 men and women found NCRMD in British Columbia (n = 222), Quebec (n = 1094), and Ontario (n = 484) between May 2000 to April 2005, followed until December 2008. RESULTS: The most common primary diagnosis was a psychotic spectrum disorder. One-third of NCRMD-accused people had a severe mental illness and a concomitant substance use disorder, with British Columbia having the highest rate of dually diagnosed NCRMD-accused people. Most accused people (72.4%) had at least 1 prior psychiatric hospitalization. Two-thirds of index NCRMD offences were against the person, with a wide range of severity. Family members, followed by professionals, such as police and mental health care workers, were the most frequent victims. Quebec had the highest proportion of people with a mood disorder and the lowest median offence severity. There were both interprovincial differences and similarities in the characteristics of NCRMD-accused people. CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to public perception, severe violent offenses such as murder, attempted murder or sexual offences represent a small proportion of all NCRMD verdict offences. The results reveal a heterogeneous population regarding mental health and criminological characteristics in need of hierarchically organized forensic mental health services and levels of security. NCRMD-accused people were well known to civil psychiatric services prior to being found NCRMD. Risk assessment training and interventions to reduce violence and criminality should be a priority in civil mental health services.

The national trajectory project of individuals found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder in Canada. Part 3: trajectories and outcomes through the forensic system.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the processing and Review Board (RB) disposition outcomes of people found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (NCRMD) across the 3 most populous provinces in Canada. Although the Criminal Code is federally legislated, criminal justice is administered by provinces and territories. It follows that a person with mental illness who comes into conflict with the law and subsequently comes under the management of a legally mandated RB may experience different trajectories across jurisdictions. METHOD: The National Trajectory Project examined 1800 men and women found NCRMD in British Columbia (n = 222), Quebec (n = 1094), and Ontario (n = 484) between May 2000 and April 2005, followed until December 2008. RESULTS: We found significant interprovincial differences in the trajectories of people found NCRMD, including time detained in hospital and time under the supervision of an RB. The odds of being conditionally or absolutely discharged by the RB varied across provinces, even after number of past offences, diagnosis at verdict, and most severe index offence (all covariates decreased likelihood of discharge) were considered. CONCLUSIONS: Considerable discrepancies in the application of NCRMD legislation and the processing of NCRMD cases through the forensic system across the provinces suggests that fair and equitable treatment under the law could be enhanced by increased national integration and collaboration.

The national trajectory project of individuals found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder in Canada. Part 4: criminal recidivism.

OBJECTIVE: To examine criminal recidivism rates of a large sample of people found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (NCRMD) in Canada's 3 most populous provinces, British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec. Public concern about the dangerousness of people found NCRMD has been fed by media attention on high-profile cases. However, little research is available on the rate of reoffending among people found NCRMD across Canadian provinces. METHOD: Using data from the National Trajectory Project, this study examined 1800 men and women in British Columbia (n = 222), Ontario (n = 484), and Quebec (n = 1094) who were found NCRMD between May 2000 and April 2005 and followed until December 2008. RESULTS: Recidivism was relatively low after 3 years (17%). There were interprovincial differences after controlling for number of prior criminal offences, diagnosis, seriousness of the index offence, and supervision by the review boards. British Columbia (10%) and Ontario (9%) were similar, whereas Quebec had almost twice the recidivism (22%). People who had committed severe violent index offences were less likely to reoffend than those who had committed less severe offences. People from the sample were less likely to reoffend when under the purview of review boards, across all 3 provinces. CONCLUSION: The results of this study, along with other research on processing differences, suggest systemic differences in the trajectories and outcomes of persons found NCRMD need to be better understood to guide national policies and practices.

[Mental Health Action Plan: contextual analysis and elements impacting on organization of primary care services and collaborative issues]. / Plan d'action québécois en santé mentale : contextes de mise en oeuvre et éléments d'impact sur l'organisation des services de première ligne et les modes de collaboration.

Since 2005, the Mental Health Action Plan maps out development and reorganization of mental health services in Québec. With concurrent reforms affecting the overall layout of the health care system, the Action Plan especially seeks to improve the management of common mental disorders. This particular concern calls for transformations at the primary care level. Contextual analysis of contrasting settings allows the identification of the main determinants in this actual process of change and in the ways collaborative issues are addressed.