INNER LONDON COLLABORATIVE AUDIT OF ADMISSIONS IN 2 HEALTH DISTRICTS .2. ETHNICITY AND THE USE OF THE MENTAL-HEALTH-ACT

Background. Twenty-six per cent of patients in two Inner London distri cts were admitted to acute wards under the provisions of the Mental He alth Act. Compared with those not under compulsion, they were young, m ale, more likely to be of black Caribbean origin, and to have a diagno sis of schizophrenia of short duration. The hypothesis is tested that ethnicity determines rates of compulsory admission independently of th e other factors. Method. Sampling and data collection methods were des cribed in the first paper. Statistical analyses included a log-linear analysis of six key variables: compulsory admission, challenging behav iour, diagnosis, ethnicity, age, and sex.Results. There were no substa ntial differences between districts. Analysis provided two similar sta tistical models. In both, admission under the Act was strongly associa ted with challenging behaviour and diagnosis of schizophrenia. In the model of best fit there was no significant interaction term for ethnic ity and compulsion. In the second model there was a weak association. Conclusions. Ethnicity did not appear to be of outstanding importance in decisions to use the Mental Health Act. There was a strong link bet ween ethnicity and diagnosis, independent of compulsion. Differences b etween the districts made no major contribution to the rates of compul sory admission.