The closing of forensic psychiatric hospitals in Italy: determinants, current status and future perspectives: a scoping review
Introduction. Italy is the only country in the world to have closed forensic psychiatric hospitals and converted to fully-residential services. The international interest around this reform has not been matched by research. This scoping review aims to report the determinants of the reform, the most...
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| Format: | Article |
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Elsevier
2017
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47174/ |
| _version_ | 1848797481897295872 |
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| author | Di Lorito, Claudio Castelletti, Luca Lega, Ilaria Gualco, Barbara Scarpa, Franco Völlm, Birgit |
| author_facet | Di Lorito, Claudio Castelletti, Luca Lega, Ilaria Gualco, Barbara Scarpa, Franco Völlm, Birgit |
| author_sort | Di Lorito, Claudio |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Introduction. Italy is the only country in the world to have closed forensic psychiatric hospitals and converted to fully-residential services. The international interest around this reform has not been matched by research. This scoping review aims to report the determinants of the reform, the most updated information on how the system operates, its benefits and its challenges. We further aim to discuss the implications for policy, research and practice.
Methods. 1. Selection of relevant sources through electronic search on four databases, Google, relevant printed materials and personal communication with practitioners currently working in REMS. 2. Study quality monitoring. 3. Data extraction onto NVivo 4. Data synthesis through content analysis.
Results. 43 papers were selected for inclusion in our review. Two main themes were identified: 1. Historical chronology of the closure of forensic psychiatric hospitals; 2. The current model of residential forensic psychiatric care.
Conclusions. The closing down of Italian forensic psychiatric hospitals represented a fundamental step for human rights. Further work is required to improve the current service, including potential reforming of the penal code, improved referral/admission processes and consistent monitoring to reduce service inequality across regions. Further research is crucial to test the effectiveness of the Italian model of care against traditional ones. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:04:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-47174 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:04:34Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-471742020-05-04T19:16:26Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47174/ The closing of forensic psychiatric hospitals in Italy: determinants, current status and future perspectives: a scoping review Di Lorito, Claudio Castelletti, Luca Lega, Ilaria Gualco, Barbara Scarpa, Franco Völlm, Birgit Introduction. Italy is the only country in the world to have closed forensic psychiatric hospitals and converted to fully-residential services. The international interest around this reform has not been matched by research. This scoping review aims to report the determinants of the reform, the most updated information on how the system operates, its benefits and its challenges. We further aim to discuss the implications for policy, research and practice. Methods. 1. Selection of relevant sources through electronic search on four databases, Google, relevant printed materials and personal communication with practitioners currently working in REMS. 2. Study quality monitoring. 3. Data extraction onto NVivo 4. Data synthesis through content analysis. Results. 43 papers were selected for inclusion in our review. Two main themes were identified: 1. Historical chronology of the closure of forensic psychiatric hospitals; 2. The current model of residential forensic psychiatric care. Conclusions. The closing down of Italian forensic psychiatric hospitals represented a fundamental step for human rights. Further work is required to improve the current service, including potential reforming of the penal code, improved referral/admission processes and consistent monitoring to reduce service inequality across regions. Further research is crucial to test the effectiveness of the Italian model of care against traditional ones. Elsevier 2017-11-05 Article PeerReviewed Di Lorito, Claudio, Castelletti, Luca, Lega, Ilaria, Gualco, Barbara, Scarpa, Franco and Völlm, Birgit (2017) The closing of forensic psychiatric hospitals in Italy: determinants, current status and future perspectives: a scoping review. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 55 . pp. 54-63. ISSN 1873-6386 Italy; Forensic psychiatry; Residenze per l’Esecuzione delle Misure di Sicurezza (REMS); Ospedali Psichiatrici Giudiziari (OPG); Mentally-ill offenders; Review https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160252717300559 doi:10.1016/j.ijlp.2017.10.004 doi:10.1016/j.ijlp.2017.10.004 |
| spellingShingle | Italy; Forensic psychiatry; Residenze per l’Esecuzione delle Misure di Sicurezza (REMS); Ospedali Psichiatrici Giudiziari (OPG); Mentally-ill offenders; Review Di Lorito, Claudio Castelletti, Luca Lega, Ilaria Gualco, Barbara Scarpa, Franco Völlm, Birgit The closing of forensic psychiatric hospitals in Italy: determinants, current status and future perspectives: a scoping review |
| title | The closing of forensic psychiatric hospitals in Italy: determinants, current status and future perspectives: a scoping review |
| title_full | The closing of forensic psychiatric hospitals in Italy: determinants, current status and future perspectives: a scoping review |
| title_fullStr | The closing of forensic psychiatric hospitals in Italy: determinants, current status and future perspectives: a scoping review |
| title_full_unstemmed | The closing of forensic psychiatric hospitals in Italy: determinants, current status and future perspectives: a scoping review |
| title_short | The closing of forensic psychiatric hospitals in Italy: determinants, current status and future perspectives: a scoping review |
| title_sort | closing of forensic psychiatric hospitals in italy: determinants, current status and future perspectives: a scoping review |
| topic | Italy; Forensic psychiatry; Residenze per l’Esecuzione delle Misure di Sicurezza (REMS); Ospedali Psichiatrici Giudiziari (OPG); Mentally-ill offenders; Review |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47174/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47174/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47174/ |